GATHER YOUR SICKLES

I shiver very easily.

I mean, I could be feeling so hot, and you put on the fan or AC for me. Within minutes, I'll be shivering. The longer I stay under that cold, the deeper the shivering gets, until I'm practically shaking and my teeth begin to chatter. 😪

People say it's low iron. But I say maybe soft life just doesn't want me. I mean, how was I expecting to live in Finland when I can't even survive an air conditioner? 😪😂

But Gorgeous, today's article is more than a fun fact you probably didn't know about me.

It will be a long read, but please, come, be patient. Let me show you something.

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Sometime ago, I started noticing something.

There seem to be so many churches being established everywhere. Sometimes I pass by them physically; other times I see them on social media. And if I'm being completely honest, my first thought used to be:

"All these people starting churches... who sent them?"

"Do they even understand what it means to pastor a church? To shepherd people?"

Yes. I judged them. 😂

Sorry, no vex abeg. 😩

Then one day, I had a conversation with someone who said something that completely changed the way I looked at it.

She said:

"Abigail, this is the end times. It is even now that people should run to God more. The harvest is plenty, but the labourers are few."

And just like that, something shifted in me.

Now, whenever I see a church being established or someone stepping into ministry, I don't immediately wonder who sent them.

I find myself thinking:

"Perhaps God sent them."

And honestly, I am proud of them.

Someone I know had been battling with obeying the call of God upon his life for a long time. Eventually, he agreed and started his fellowship.

Oh, I swelled with pride! 😂🥳

I was genuinely so proud of him. I congratulated him for taking that bold step, and one thought kept running through my mind:

"The harvest is plentiful. The labourers are few."

And perhaps that is why Matthew 9:36–38 has been sitting so heavily on my heart.

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THE REAPER

Matthew 9:36–38 (TPT)

[36] When he saw the vast crowds of people, Jesus’ heart was deeply moved with compassion, because they seemed weary and helpless, like wandering sheep without a shepherd.

[37] He turned to his disciples and said, “The harvest is huge and ripe! But there are not enough harvesters to bring it all in.

[38] As you go, plead with the Owner of the Harvest to thrust out many more reapers to harvest his grain!”

Gorgeous, look at something with me.

1. JESUS SAW THE PEOPLE

Jesus looked at the crowds, and He didn't first see numbers. He didn't see opportunities, He didn't see potential followers, He didn't see a ministry strategy. 

"His heart was deeply moved with compassion..."

He saw people. People who were weary, people who were helpless, people who were like sheep without a shepherd.

And that matters, bcause sometimes, when we hear the words "the harvest is plentiful," our first question is:

"What am I supposed to do?"

But Jesus' first response to the harvest was to look at the people.

Before purpose becomes an assignment, there is compassion.

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2. "THEY WERE LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD."

Think about that.

Sheep without a shepherd are vulnerable. They don't necessarily know where to go, where safety is, or where nourishment can be found.

Jesus wasn't simply saying:

"These people need religion."

He was recognising that they were lost, exhausted and without adequate spiritual care.

The harvest wasn't merely a field of opportunities, it was people, people who needed someone to follow.

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3. "THE HARVEST IS HUGE AND RIPE!"

Gorgeous notice something.

Jesus didn't say:

"Create the harvest."

He said:

"The harvest is already there."

You see, sometimes we imagine purpose as something we have to manufacture.

"I need to find my big thing."

"I need to build something impressive."

"I need to become somebody."

But Jesus presents the disciples with something God has already been preparing. Their job isn't to manufacture the harvest, their job is to participate in what God is already doing. That is a very humbling definition of purpose.

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4. "THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH HARVESTERS."

And then comes the painful part.

There is a need.

There are people.

There is a harvest.

But there aren't enough people willing to go.

And what does Jesus tell them to do?

Pray.

He doesn't first say, "Work harder."

He says:

"Plead with the Owner of the Harvest..."

The harvest belongs to God. Not the disciples, not pastors, not ministries, not influencers, not me, not you, not us.

God is the Owner.

And I think that protects us from something dangerous in purpose: the belief that everything depends on us.

It doesn't.

The harvest belongs to Him.

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5. THEN JESUS DOES SOMETHING INTERESTING.

He tells them to pray for labourers but then, in the very next chapter, Matthew 10, He sends those same disciples out.

Gorgeous, think about that.

They pray:

"Lord, send workers."

And God essentially responds:

"You go."

😭😂😂😝😝

Sometimes we pray:

"Lord, send somebody."

And God may answer:

"I am sending you."

That is one of the most confronting things about purpose.

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Gorgeous, the whole essence of this post is to encourage someone today.

Perhaps God has been calling you.

• Maybe into pastoral ministry.

 • Maybe evangelism.

 • Maybe missions.

 • Maybe teaching.

 • Maybe discipleship.

 • Maybe intercession.

 • Maybe children's ministry.

 • Maybe counselling.

 • Maybe worship.

 • Maybe a fellowship in your home.

 • Maybe something that doesn't even have a title yet.

You may have been asking:

"Who am I to do this?"

"Am I qualified?"

"What if nobody comes?"

"What if people laugh at me?"

"What if I fail?"

But look at the disciples. Jesus didn't wait until they became flawless human beings before He sent them.

They misunderstood Him, they argued, they were afraid. They made mistakes and eventually, when Jesus was arrested, many of them ran away.

Yet Jesus still said:

Go.

So please don't make the mistake of thinking you MUST BECOME a perfect person before God can use your life.

You need maturity, you need character, you need preparation, you need humility.

But you DO NOT need to become some flawless superhuman before you answer God's call.

Sometimes, obedience begins with simply saying:

"Yes, Lord."

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And also Gorgeous, there is another thing I love about this passage.

The harvest belongs to the Owner and that means the people you are called to serve do not belong to you. So, If God gives you a church, fellowship, community, podcast, ministry, business, career, family, or any other sphere of influence, you are a steward, not the owner.

That distinction matters.

Because the moment we begin thinking:

"These are MY people,"

we can begin controlling the very people we were sent to serve.

Jesus says:

"The Owner of the Harvest."

Not us.

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So what does this passage teach us about purpose?

If I were to put the entire passage into one thought, I would say:

Purpose begins when you allow God to give you His eyes for people, His heart for people, and eventually His willingness to send you to people.

Look at the order:

SEE → FEEL → PRAY → GO.

Jesus saw them.

His heart was moved.

He told His disciples to pray.

Then He sent them.

What a beautiful pattern for anyone trying to discern purpose.

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And this brings me back to where I started.

Those churches I used to look at and wonder,

"Who sent these people?"

I don't know who God has called.

I don't know what He has spoken to them.

I don't know what burden He has placed on their hearts.

I don't know what harvest they have been sent into.

So perhaps my first response shouldn't be judgement.

Perhaps it should be prayer.

Because Jesus Himself said:

"The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few."

And perhaps some of the people I was questioning are simply people who finally said:

"Yes." To God.

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Gorgeous, maybe you've been running from your own "yes."

Maybe God has been calling you for years and you've been negotiating with Him.

"Not me, Lord."

"I'm not ready."

"Maybe later."

"There are other people who can do it better."

"How will I survive?"

But what if the harvest you keep praying about is the very harvest God wants you to enter?

What if you've been asking:

"Lord, send someone."

And He has been answering:

"I am sending you."

🫣😂😝

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So, as you read this, I want you to sit with one question.

Not:

"What will make me successful?"

Not:

"What will make people know my name?"

Not even:

"What is my purpose?"

But:

"Lord, what harvest are You already working on, and where are You asking me to become a faithful labourer?"

Because sometimes purpose is discovered not by staring inward at ourselves, but by looking outward at the people God has placed on our hearts.

Perhaps that is why this article has found you at this particular point in your journey.

Not necessarily as a prediction, not as a promise we should force into a particular interpretation.

But as an invitation:

"Look around. There is a harvest."

And then:

"Ask the Owner where you belong in it."

So, Gorgeous...

If God has called you, go.

If He has instructed you, obey.

If He has given you a burden for people, don't ignore it.

If He has placed a harvest before you, don't spend your whole life praying for somebody else to reap it.

Perhaps...

you are the labourer you've been praying for.

I believe in you, I'm rooting for you,

Mama.🤍

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God bless you.🤍🤍🌸