Preparing the Fields

Prepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the field; And afterward build your house.

Proverbs 24:27

 

The other night I was flipping through channels and came across one of my favorite inspirational movies, Facing the Giants.  God knew I needed the encouragement.

 

In the movie, Grant Taylor is a high school football coach who has fallen on hard times.  He faces the possibility of being fired because of his team's losing streak.  On top of that, his wife and he are facing infertility.

 

One scene in the movie touched my heart more then ever before.  When Grant is ready to give up, a pastor friend encourages him with a story about two farmers who needed rain for their fields.  One didn’t do anything except pray for rain.  The other prayed as well but also prepared his field in faith that God would send the rain.  The pastor encourages Grant to “prepare his fields” for rain.

 

After that, Grant begins “preparing his fields.”  I won't give away the ending of this amazing movie but lets just say Grant's life takes a 180 degree turn. He starts studying the Bible, praying for wisdom and giving 100 percent at his coaching job.  He uses the wisdom from God’s word to encourage the kids on his team.   In response to his faith, God sends the rain. 

The movie scene made me wonder if I was really preparing my own fields for rain.  Was my heart ready to receive blessings from God?

 

 Recently I felt a lot like the main character in Facing the Giants.  I experienced some health issues due to my pregnancy that landed me in the hospital for three days.  My writing came to a halt due to my sickness and writers block.  Deadlines loomed over my head and I felt like nothing was going right. 

Discouragement caused me to question if God wanted me to continue in my current writing projects.  Would my work ever be published?  Was I writing for God’s glory or my own? The questions were hard to face, but after some praying and reading scripture He showed me that I need to trust in him, no matter what happens.  Why?  Because He always has my best interests at heart. 

Thankfully I serve an amazing God who has helped me through the challenges and is healing me of my illness.  He has also kept my unborn child safe and healthy.  Praise the Lord! 

So what does it mean to "prepare the fields?"

To me, this means I need to pray, study God’s word, seek council from others and in the meantime work on improving my writing and website.  Then, pray and study God’s word some more.  
 

 

I need to prepare myself for the blessings that God will send and have faith that the rain will come.  I will praise him no matter what happens.
 

Please feel free to comment and share ways that God has encouraged you to “prepare your fields” and the blessings he has provided.  Thank you for reading and may God bless you today.  :)

 

Image courtesy of (Evgeni Dinev)http://www.freedigitalphotos.net