Matthew 9:37-38 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

God is supreme over all, but He uses people to accomplish His purposes. God could speak a word and instantly cause everyone to repent and believe, but that would violate human free will, and in God’s economy, that’s the most valuable thing of all. Apart from free will, we would bear no responsibility for our sins, and Jesus would not have had to come to die for us. However, we aren’t robots, we are headstrong children, and that brings all sorts of complications. Accordingly, each individual has to choose to repent, to stop ignoring and/or running away from God and trust Him with all they are and have. For that to happen, someone has to tell them the good news of God’s love, grace, and mercy, and then nurture them in the knowledge of God after they have committed themselves to Him. Those are the “harvest workers” Jesus is talking about here. No individual, not even Billy Graham, has ever been called to do the job alone; we are to work together. The scale of the task is essentially beyond our imagination, because God loves every human individual, personally and not just in the aggregate. That calls for personal contacts. Broadcast evangelism certainly has its place, but each individual, at the very least, needs someone to guide and disciple them. When we pray for harvest workers, we are really praying for God’s children to wake up to the task that is all around them, to express their love for Jesus by obediently telling others about His love and grace and mercy. We aren’t all gifted as evangelists, as in Ephesians 4:11, but we can all allow God to love people through us. Any time we pray we need to offer ourselves as instruments of that prayer being answered, so praying that God would send forth harvest workers is also volunteering to be one of those workers yourself. The work isn’t necessarily easy, but it can have enormous rewards, and the retirement plan is out of this world!

I have been delighted, and frankly, amazed, at how many people God seems to be calling from Hong Kong and Taiwan to minister in Japan. We keep hearing about, or actually meeting, more, and I rejoice. There are language and cultural barriers, but at least such missionaries don’t look so different from the Japanese! I am to shepherd and mentor such workers, not limiting them to what I have done and experienced but allowing them to avoid some of the mistakes I have made. I desire that God pour out a spirit of repentance and faith on this nation, but I have to be willing to play whatever part God has for me in that, not thinking I’m more important than I am, but allowing God to use me however He chooses. Frankly, training new workers can be a lot of work in itself, but as Paul said, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) I just need to keep praying that God’s will be done, whatever it means for me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. There is so much going on, on so many levels, and I certainly can’t keep it all straight. Help me be quiet enough before You to hear what You’re saying to me, and obedient enough to follow through fully. Thank You for what You did yesterday, both in the work that got done on the garden and what is happening in the heart of the man who helped me. The latter of those is far more important! Help me be faithful at each task You set for me, today and every day, so that Your will may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!