At just the right time you will reap a harvest of blessing if you don’t give up. Today we kick off a Harvest series. Erica reads Galatians 6 and shares a story about how Charles Schultz persevered in the creation of Charlie Brown and what we can learn for our own lives as we look at how God doesn’t want us to give up.
Harvest Takeaway Verse: Galatians 6:9
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.
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Transcription:
Hi, welcome to The Bible For Busy People. I’m Erica, and this is where you and I gather to study the Bible in seven minutes or less and remember just how loved we are. You know, Jesus says in his word, come to me and I will give you rest. That’s a promise. And you and I, right now, are taking Jesus up on his invitation.
Okay, so today’s episode is called, What You Gain When You Don’t Give Up. Oh, yeah! In football language, calling a little bit of an audible here, a different play. You and I have spent a whole lot of time in the book of Acts, and it has been incredible. We’ve heard so many stories together about the early church and all the miracles that God did back then, but I’m feeling a little nudge to press pause on the book of Acts for now. So today we’re kicking off a brand-new series called, Harvest. I’m excited to explore what the Bible has to say about sowing and reaping, and what happens in between.
So join me in Galatians chapter six, beginning in verse one. The apostle Paul writes, “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly, should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same Temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way, obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct. Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. Don’t be misled, you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” Wow. “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. But those who live to please the Spirit,” let me live that way, Lord, right now, “will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” Everlasting life.
Here comes our takeaway verse, verse nine. “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time,” at just the right time, “we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to those in the family of faith.”
Wow. Don’t give up. Whatever is stressing you out today, don’t get tired of doing what is good in the middle of it because you just heard what the apostle Paul said. At just the right time you will reap a harvest of blessing if you don’t give up. I wanna share a little story with you about what not giving up looks like. Once, there was a young man who felt like a total loser. He failed eighth grade, he wasn’t really good at sports, nothing really went his way. Now he was good at this one thing, he was really good at drawing things. And so he submitted his artwork to many publications and I believe over 200 times he was rejected, but he never gave up. And finally he decided to create a comic strip based on his life. He created a character who we all love and identify with. Charlie Brown. Yeah, Charles Schultz never gave up. And as a result, the world has Snoopy and Charlie and Linus, and yes, even Lucy, all the adorable characters. Think about how different the holidays would be without gathering around the TV with popcorn and your family and watching, It’s The Great Pumpkin, and a Charlie Brown Christmas. Does anything warm up your heart more? Then, when at the end of a Charlie Brown Christmas, all of the Peanuts decorate the tree, and the little wimpy Charlie Brown tree becomes something very special because it’s wrapped in love and it’s surrounded by the love that Charlie Brown’s friends showed him. Charles Schultz gave us the gift of what it looks like to not give up.
Now, I know you might be in that season of rejection. You might feel like, Look I have tried everything in my particular situation and I’m out of gas, I’m running on fumes. I wanna pray for you right now. Father, we just come to you in the name of Jesus, my friend and I, who is running on fumes. Lord, when we empty out, you are just getting started. Lord, you tell us in your word that if we don’t give up, we will reap a harvest of blessing when the time is right. Lord Jesus, until that right time, would you give my friend endurance to keep running the race that you’ve called him or her to run? Lord, we pray that you would fill them with a fresh wind from your Holy Spirit, that you would surround them with your love as Charlie Brown’s friends surrounded him, and that Christmas tree at the end of that holiday special that we love so much. Surround us, Lord with your love today, and help us, Lord, to keep running and not give up. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
A little P.S. here, another thing I love about the story of Charles Schultz is that not only did God bring something good out of all of that rejection, but he also used it because we all can relate to Charlie Brown. We know how Charlie feels when Lucy holds that football out and at the last second, she pulls it away. And we see that, and we smile way down deep inside, because we know all of us go through stuff. Life doesn’t always go our way, but if we don’t give up God promises, there are blessings in store. So look ahead, keep your eyes focused on those blessings that are coming for you. Until next time, remember, you are loved.
Thank you so much for listening to the Bible for Busy People. If you need prayer or you’re ready to go a little deeper in your faith, we’ve posted some resources for you in our show notes. We’d love for you to share this podcast with a friend and leave us a review. It helps us reach even more people with the hope of Jesus. This podcast is part of Purposely, a podcast network designed with practical podcasts to help you find and live in God’s purpose for your life. Find more podcasts that will recharge you at onpurposely.com.
