God tells us there is a law of sowing and reaping.
If you plant apple seeds, you get apple trees. If you plant orange seeds, don't be deceived; don't be stupid and expect apples. You can picture a farmer out in his fields: Wait. What's this? I wanted apples. Why did I get oranges? It's because you planted orange seeds! If you plant corn, you're going to reap corn. Don't plant corn if you want pineapples. That would be stupid. When you put a certain type of seed in the ground, you get a harvest that corresponds with the seed you planted.
Every. Single. Time. You reap what you sow.
True in agriculture. True in life.
If you plant good habits, you'll get good outcomes. If you plant bad habits, don't be deceived and expect good outcomes.
Wait. What's this? I didn't want this. Why is this happening?
Because that's what you planted. You fooled yourself into thinking you could plant one thing and reap another.
Sounds crazy that someone might do that, but it happens all the time. A guy sows seeds of lust. He checks out girls at the gym, girls at his office, girls online. But he expects to have a good marriage. Then, when his marriage struggles, he's confused. Wait. What's this? It's what you planted.
A woman sows seeds of criticism and negativity but expects good friends. People avoid her. She's lonely. She thinks, Wait. What's this? I guess I have bad friends. No. It's what you planted.
A recent college graduate sows seeds of showing up late for work and giving a halfhearted effort but expects a promotion. When someone else is given the promotion, the young adult thinks, Wait. What's this? Man, my boss isn't fair! No. It's what you planted.
Some dude eats anything he wants. Praise the Lord and pass the Doritos! He doesn't exercise. He drinks a six-pack on Friday to celebrate that it's Friday. And a six-pack on Saturday cause, hey, it's Saturday. And a six pack on Sunday because it's the last day of the weekend. He ends up thirty-five pounds overweight in his forties and with cirrhosis in his fifties. Hey! What's this? This isn't fair! Is God punishing me for something I did when I was a kid? No. It's not a punishment. It's a harvest. You are reaping what you've sown.
When people mess up their marriages, friendships, or careers, they get upset and often blame God. Ummm, no. God didn't do this to you. You did this to you.
If you plant good habits, you'll get good outcomes.
If you plant bad habits, don't expect good outcomes.
You reap what you sow.
If you don't like what you're reaping, change what you're sowing. If you don't like the harvest, change the seed.
Here's a divine assignment: Take an honest, prayerful look at the disappointing parts of your life. Ask God to help you search your heart. Then pinpoint the habits that have led to each aspect of your life that isn't what you want. Avoid having a victim mentality or blaming others. That will not help. Take responsibility by identifying the habits you've sown that have led to your harvest. Then decide on a type of seed you will consistently plant to get a better harvest.
If you don't like what you're reaping, change what you're sowing. Because you reap what you sow.
And it's actually even bigger than that.
Exercise
Here's the assignment we just covered. Use this pattern for as many areas of life as you need to address.
God, I have sown _______________________________ and have reaped _______________________________ because of my habit of _______________________________.
To change this outcome, I need to start or stop my habit of ______________________________, so help me to plant the seeds of ______________________________ so I can reap ________________________.
Principle
If you don't like what you're reaping, change what you're sowing. If you don't like the harvest, change the seed.
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 will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
— Galatians 6:7–8 NLT
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