Sowing To The Spirit
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)
From this text, it’s important to know that we can reap what we sow, good or bad.
What does “sowing” look like? Sowing in an agricultural sense means plant (seed) by scattering it on or in the earth. So in the spirit it is the same thing. What you plant in your spirit, you can reap of the spirit. What you plant in the flesh, which is another term to describe sin or worldly behavior, you can reap as well.
Sowing to the flesh looks like bad character, tolerating sin, laziness (Proverbs 6:6-11) unbelief, sexual immorality (every form), etc. All these things sow into our sinful nature, the flesh. They may even make us feel good but ultimately we are building in the wrong area when we do so. Pouring into places that we should be starving, chiseling, and demolishing. Though they may feel good at the time, it can prevent our growth and ultimately hinder our spiritual health. The main goal to sowing spiritually isn't just focused on us, but always unto God.
Sowing to the Spirit looks like a number of things:
It includes prayer (Matthew 6:5-8)
Fasting (Matthew 6:16-18)
reading the Bible, studying it (2 Timothy 2:15)
serving in the church (Ephesians 4:16 and 1 Corinthians 12:15:26)
helping others (Matthew 25:34-40)
taming the tongue(James 3:1-12)
worshipping (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
being in community with fellow believers (Hebrews 10:25)
practicing and giving our lives to these things(Timothy 4:15)
I can attest that when my life is in alignment due to sowing to the spirit, I feel a tremendous difference. The weight of sin is off and the joy I have is unexplainable. It’s not even the absence of issues, either. Even when I am not having a great day, or a happy time, the stability is still there. I've had devastating things happen and experienced stability in the midst. I’ve had disappointing things happen to me just in the last month and it didn’t wipe me out emotionally because the knowledge and reality of scriptures like this that I meditate on:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
It’s not me, but the reality that life in the spirit, is not just stable but fruitful.
Through the years, especially the most recent ones I’ve learned that what we feed will grow. I like to think of sowing and reaping spiritually as this analogy: Picture that the things listed above are food and the inner man (as some may call, the spirit man) is a body builder. In order to prepare for a competition he's going to need to eat healthy and practice, right? Well which group of food will he be eating? What will he be doing? Would he be procrastinating, skipping work outs or eating junk food right before the event? Or if you were him, would you much rather eat well, work out regularly, and work to become skillful at your craft? I'm sure the latter is the best, but to be honest that's not always reality.
It’s been times where I’ve felt pretty wack to be honest, and it’s because I’ve been neglecting what’s important! I can’t watch, listen too, or do whatever I want and expect this whole and vibrant human being out of me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not totally what we do that makes us vibrant in him; and we know in life we will have issues come about. It’s God who provides the increase. Jesus has surely died for our sins and we don’t have to work for salvation. What I am saying here is that laziness won’t help us to build and be the BEST that we can be in him. The defense we have in life will be better off if our daily preparation/regimen is healthy.
If for you its reading your bible, do it day by day. If its prayer, pray the way you know how. If it’s fasting, serving, forgiving, whatever, give it the best you have and it is my belief that you will see an increase in your walk with God because you’re doing it unto God and he rewards those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). Change doesn’t happen overnight, but it does come with diligence (Proverbs 12:11). Slow progress is still progress!
So my brothers and sisters, if we're going to reap what we sow, let’s sow rightly.
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)
Until Next Time,
Jess