Harvest Thanksgiving

Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound (Psalm 4:8)

What comes into our mind at harvest time? Should there be a difference between how we think and how those who don’t believe in God think? After all, they may not even connect God with the harvest. They will have a kind of joy, but it is not the joy that we should have. So we can think briefly about why we should have joy and what kind of joy we should have.

First, we should have joy because harvest is a reminder that God is the creator. He is the one who has arranged the seasons of the year. Indeed, celebrating the harvest was a prominent feature of the worship in Israel, with the feasts of first fruits and tabernacles connected to the harvest.

Second, we should have joy because harvests are a sign that God does not deal with us in the way our sins deserve. After the judgement of the flood, the Lord indicated by a promise that the seasons, including the harvests, would not cease while the earth lasts (Gen. 8:22).

Third, we should have joy because harvests teach us many spiritual lessons. One obvious lesson is that there will be a harvest of souls when Jesus returns, with people from all nations and periods of time gathered in to the kingdom. Another lesson is for us as a congregation, that a harvest will be reaped if the correct seed – the gospel – is sown. There is also the promise of personal harvests, with the fruit of the Spirit on display in our lives.

Obviously, in the natural world, harvest usually occurs once a year. In the spiritual world, harvests can come more frequently. The natural order will usually provide a harvest if people follow the rules that God has laid down. The same is true spiritually. 

Priority
The joy that God gives should be a greater priority for us than all the food given at harvest time. Gratitude for the harvest is truly expressed when God above all else makes us happy. So harvest time is a spiritual test as to whether we only look to the things of earth or do we also find joy in heavenly things.

Jesus promises us his joy
He says in John 15:11: ‘These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.’ And he tells how to get it in John 16:24: ‘Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.’ Again he prays in John 17:13: ‘But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.’

Options for joy
Christians have the best of both worlds. They can have joy in the good things of this life and in the spiritual things of God. The joy of pardon, provisions and prospects should be theirs as they make their way from the world of temporary harvests to the world where all things are greater than harvests.

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