HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE BALLET? I had the privilege of seeing a great performance of Swan Lake many years ago and oh, what a beautiful dance! The prima ballerina was so elegant and graceful, it was truly amazing and inspiring to watch. How does she dance like that? Wow! I was in awe.
However, have you seen the ballerina’s feet? See, we look at someone’s dance and see how graceful and beautiful their dance is, but we don’t see their broken, mangled, bloody toes. You don’t see someone’s toil- you are just looking at their crops. You rarely see how they’ve plowed the hard dirt in the heat and sweat of the hot sun. You don’t see when the enemy tore out and stole their crops and they had to fight him off. You don’t see the constant watering of tears and praying for the rain so their crop can grow. You don’t see their sacrifice, those bloody toes; you just see their fruit and then wonder why you’re not their yet.
My friend, it takes toiling under the hot sun, often in bad conditions, in the drought and famine with lots of prayers and tears for good fruit to come forth. It is years and years of faithful toiling and a commitment to never quit, no matter what circumstances may come. Do not envy someone else’s field. You do not know what they’ve done for the harvest to come forth. Mind your own business and care for your own crops, “And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.” Galatians 6:9
You will reap a harvest as well, if you do not quit. In our house we say, “Faithful, faithful, faithful…..fruitful.” Keep your eyes on your own field and get busy tending it. Stop looking longingly at another’s field. You probably do not even have the tools and talents to do what they do. Envy only produces strife and division and will leave you bitter and resentful. God has a plot of land, the tools and talents for your field. Stay faithful to the work He gives you to do and all will be well. #runyourrace
To Learn More About Pastor Crystal please visit the Leadership Page
