“He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who
regards the clouds will not reap.” Ecclesiastes 11:4
Is it
possible to overthink a situation? Can one wait so long as to completely miss
an opportunity? Well, it has been my experience that it is. As a matter of
fact, one of the things I’ve learned about myself in recent years is that I
have a strong tendency to act this way. The bigger the decision feels, the more
likely I am to overanalyze it; I’ll mull it over multiple times, and eventually
I’ll put it off. Essentially, it plays out like this: I’d rather not make a
decision, than make a bad one. And while on certain occasions this works to my
advantage, generally speaking, it’s not a valuable trait in my repertoire. And
here in Ecclesiastes, Solomon clearly warns against waiting for “all the stars to align.”
Scripture
gives us an illustration of an overly concerned farmer that will not sow, for
the conditions are not right for him. The wind appears to be a tad too strong;
the dark clouds seem severe and possibly too ominous. And since the timing
doesn’t feel right, the job never gets done; the seed is never planted; therefore,
there are no crops to reap. And this is precisely the point: if we are
postponing for the perfect conditions,
pausing for the most favorable of circumstances, watching for that “just right” moment, we could quite
easily spend the rest of our days waiting. We may well have our eyes in the
clouds and our wet finger held to the breeze, with nothing to gather when the harvest
season draws nigh.
Now to
be clear, this passage is in no way discouraging discernment, for wisdom weighs
options, prudently positions, and strategically structures for success. Is it
recommending rash and radical resolutions? Of course not! What this verse does
caution against, however, is the idea of never moving forward. Farmers have a specific
window of time to till and plant, if they are to reap a worthwhile return. And
in a similar way, you and I have been granted an allotted period to accomplish
our God-given tasks. The Lord has called us to join in His redemptive work of
reconciling all things unto Himself. He has invited us to bring Him glory by
sharing His gospel and being disciples that seek to make disciples, both locally
and abroad. Unfortunately, we are often far too comfortable with sitting it out
in hopes of clearer skies tomorrow.
Whether
our field is at home, our place of business, or any of the places in between,
we must get to work. Truth is this: that difficult discussion will never sound like
fun. That uncomfortable scenario will always seem a bit scary. The schedule change
will never happen until it finally does. Those well-intended, intentional
moments spent with your family will remain a dream until they are given the
opportunity to become a reality. You and I long to share the good news, we
desire to be bold and adventurous in our faith. Then it might be time for us to
put our hand to the plow and push hard toward our prize. Storms may scatter the
seed we've been given, but at least out there, being tossed toward the soil, it will finally
have a chance to take root and fulfill its purpose.
Yes,
there will be exterior distractions; life will cause plenty of delays. Maybe
the enemy is staging attacks to deter us from our divinely delivered duties,
but then again, maybe it is just us – our fearfulness, our timidity, our laziness,
our need for control that gets in the way. Of course, it might not be either of
those scenarios. Perhaps the Lord is simply leading us to lean on Him, to press
into Him, and trust Him. I mean consider the problem of having to always see the next step, of constantly
making sure all the ingredients are perfectly in place. That type of living
removes the necessity of faith. Truth is that sometimes God just calls us to
the kitchen. He’ll give us the recipe when we get there – the words, the
courage, and directions, whatever is needed. But we must sow to reap, and we
must don the apron to cook in His kingdom.
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| Matt Fowler NBC Family Pastor of HS @fattmowler |
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