Why We Must Sow During Difficult Times

The effect of spiritual life can be most evident through the process of reaping what one has sown. God's laws seem quite impartially to reward the actions of anyone who remains faithful in sowing specific types of seeds in specific ways.

One benefit of intentional generosity in seed sowing is God's reward of replenishing a faithful sower. As a sovereign and miraculous sign of His faithfulness, God even extends that replenishing benefit to that sower's offspring.

God delights in rewarding His people's faithfulness in adversity, by converting our tearful sacrifice into a joyful harvest. God's focus is not merely the material item that we sow, but instead the conviction of our faith in continuing to sow generously despite the adversity.

Recalling that faith without works is dead, we know that a life's discipline of generous sowing is a continuous vocation that requires no less diligence than any other aspect of service. We have no reason to expect a bountiful harvest if our sowing is merely an occasional hobby.

The generosity in sowing that God blesses seems to include not only numerical quantity, but also widespread dispersal. As we focus His resources in that fashion, God's laws seem to provide for us multiple paths for harvest blessings.

By urging us to cast bread upon the waters – likely having the same sense as the “daily bread” that Jesus teaches us to request in prayer, God seems also to infer that our “seed” comprises the everyday provision that He gives us. Under that assumption, God's principles appear to be suited to blessing anyone's faithfulness, and not only those who have extraordinary seed resources to sow.

On the other hand, the scriptures leave a strong impression that one's failure to sow generously is offensive to God. While not condemning ordinary personal savings, God has explicitly warned His people not to hoard unnecessarily what He has provided to us in abundance. In fact, the Proverbs teach that one who withholds unduly can expect to experience poverty, in contrast to the abundant gains that one can expect from free giving.

As we demonstrate our faithfulness in a few material things, God has promised to give us dominion over many more things from the heavenly realm. The prosperity that God intends for His people is not limited to monetary or commercial resources, but instead extends to an entire connectedness with God's plans to redeem His creation.

God's has promised to direct His resources toward giving seed to the sower for His word's harvest. He promises that His word will not come back to Him void.