“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9
This verse popped up, shared on Facebook, just in time. As did a thought I’d heard discussed the other day. It’s harvest-time in my neck-of-the-world, which is amazing if you have spent time gardening or dialing in your rifle scope. Finally you get to see the reward of what you have devoted much time and effort on most of the months before.
But the Bible also speaks of a harvest, one of blessings (as stated above) or even of curses. (Just a couple of verses before it says “You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.”) So if we believe what we read here in Galatians, if you do good you will harvest blessings, and if you do bad. then you will harvest only bad. Now this seems very black-and-white and so it should be pretty obvious what kind of harvest everyone wants.
You know I’m leading to something here, the “but”. So, back to the discussion of the other day. In the book of Daniel in the Holy Scriptures, chapter 6, we read about an aged man who had already demonstrated such loyalty to the king Darius that he was honored to help serve the kingdom so that it would prosper. Now he was also found to have such “exceptional qualities” among those already honored by the king that he was going to be set second-in-command over the whole kingdom. A little background here; this is the king of MedoPersia, who had just conquered the “greatest nation” Babylon, to which the man Daniel had been captured as just a young man. He has faithfully served one foreign king, and now has shown himself faithful for yet another king and conquering power.
This is “good” that Daniel’s done. So good that God has allowed him to be honored many times over. He’s done good, and so the harvest should be good. Right? Well, if we use human reasoning, then yes. But we in our human reasoning forget that there is also another player in this life; that is author of sin, the one who plants “weeds in the field.” Anyone who gardens knows about these weeds! Go back and remember why Daniel ended up in Babylon anyway. And why he ended up in MedoPersia. These would definitely been seen as “bad” things…yet Daniel makes the best of the situations and is honored.
But we read in Daniel 6 that the other “honored men” didn’t like that Daniel was going to be more honored than them…and they try to find him doing anything wrong. “They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.” Daniel 6:4. I’m going to highlight a couple of things here: Daniel is not young anymore, he is a twice-removed transplant, and he is known despite this by his upright character and his faith in his God. He has reached an age when he should just have been able to claim retirement and live out his life in ease but he’s willingly offered his services to the betterment of his new country. He still staunchly follows his beliefs of his childhood. And he holds himself to a higher standard than others around him hold themselves.
And the other honored men decide that if they are going to truly hurt him, then they would have to attack him regarding following the laws of “his God”. As you know (or if you don’t, keep reading in Daniel 6), they are successful in catching Daniel doing something they just made illegal (praying to his God) and had him sentenced to death. Again, keep reading.
But here’s the point here. “Don’t get tired of doing good…..reap a harvest of blessing.” Daniel was doing good, so much good, but he was not seeing this! And we think learning the “but it’s not fair!” game is something to be learned when we’re children, or young adults with kids….but then we should just be able to settle down and understand this is how life is. But here’s Daniel in his older years…he’s had a lot to be able to experience…but why at his age is he now having to face the “it’s not fair” when he’s already been through so much? We humans seem to really ascribe to the power of the “prep the ground, sow the seed, and harvest and enjoy the fruit” in our older age….but this very story stresses that these betrayals of our set timetables definitely happen. Surviving to a “ripe old age” is not a free pass to honorable harvesting living.
Ready for more warm fuzzy thoughts? When did this threat come against Daniel? Yes, when he was older. But more specifically, when he was being honored for being very good…he was not corrupt nor negligent and was trustworthy, and he was going to be honored above all. It was after this that he was ordered (along with the rest of the nation) to honor/worship the one honoring him and then imprisoned for simply doing what he’d been doing all his life. So. If life is going really really well, and you’re getting comfortable and waiting for your harvest….just remember (not worry, but remember) that there is another side to this equation and expect that there will be opposition/delay/threats/discouragement…someone doesn’t want you honored.
So, back to the harvest. By now hopefully you already know how this ends. It looked like the true harvest of blessing wasn’t going to happen to poor Daniel. But it absolutely does. Some plants have a relatively short sow-to-harvest time. Other plants do not, in fact you think your crop is dead. But…do not tire of doing good…. We are promised a harvest. Daniel underwent so many set-backs, but he was provided as one of the most exciting stories in the Bible and demonstrations of God’s provision in the face of certain death, and not only that but was given the responsibility to ultimately share with future generations the future to look forward to. Talk about a beautiful harvest…and one that he definitely didn’t get to see the whole of, as I suspect in heaven he will be in absolute awe at the people who are there because of his faithfulness.
We are promised a harvest. Choose the good harvest. And when it’s not coming to fruit like we feel it should, trust that God is still in the story and very likely is sitting with you when the beasts wish to devour you. Continue to do good, don’t tire of it. Your harvest is promised you “at just the right time.”
