No Servant Is to Be Idle

Daily Reading: Matthew 9

Scripture Focus: The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. (Matthew 9:37-38)

Devotional Thought: What are you doing? We have all been asked this question more times than we can count... The answer given most often is, "nothing." That does not mean there's nothing to do. We simply are not doing what needs to be done. Usually, we are avoiding a task we don’t want to do.

Today I came across a sticky note in my Bible with this sentence written on it, "No servant is to be idle."

A crop does not harvest itself. The farmer must leave the comfort of his home and go to his field. Jesus says that there is plenty to harvest, but there's a problem: "The workers are few.” Very few people are willing to roll up their sleeves, move out into the field and work. We find all kinds of excuses as to why we are not part of the harvest. Meanwhile, a few workers struggle to get the job done. The solution? “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” There are workers available, they just haven’t reported for work! Jesus wasn't talking about a physical harvest in an earthly field. He was referring to the lost people we see around us every day. Far too many Christians are oblivious to these desperate, needy people. They simply don’t see the harvest.

As we pray for him to send workers into the harvest field, do we understand that we are the workers? The work may not be easy. We will face opposition. But we must never forget that our harvest is not only for time, but also for eternity. The crop is by far too valuable to be left in the field un-harvested.

What are you doing? “No servant is to be idle!"

Pastor Steve Bierly

Prayer: Father, you are the Lord of the harvest. We offer ourselves to be workers in your harvest field. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of the greatest harvest of all time and eternity. Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 9 There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11 "But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. 13 Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! 14 I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. 15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever. 16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." (Psalms 81:8-16)