Start Planting

Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both. Ecclesiastes 11:4-6 NLT

I have the privilege to pastor several farmers. There is even a field in my backyard. Farmers are hard-working individuals who are concerned with the weather. I know when we’re in a drought because it will become a prayer request at church. However, I also know that while farmers need certain types of weather to plant and harvest, they can’t wait for absolutely perfect weather. They plant when they can, and reap when they can. They work early to late, if need be. If they waited for perfect weather, there would be no crop.

This principle holds true in farming, but it also applies to life. If we waited for perfect conditions, no one would get married, have babies, get an education, or get a new job. Our “perfect conditions” never come.

I’m a recovering perfectionist. I can tell you that perfectionists like to wait until the “weather” is perfect before planting. That’s another way of saying that they procrastinate. All must be “right” before they even begin!

You can see how a mindset like that can be debilitating in ministry. When’s the last time things were “perfect” enough at church to launch that new class, build that addition, or even start that sermon series you’ve been thinking about for the past three years?

Yeah, that’s what I thought - NEVER!

My encouragement to you today is this: go ahead and step out in faith and do what the Lord is leading you to do. You don’t have to know all the details, have all the answers, or even understand all the questions that will arise.

Pray, fire up the tractor, and start planting…