While in Kenya
last month, our live-in house guard (and friend), Michael, gave each of the
members of Team Wellspring a traditional Kenyan name. The name that he gave to
me was “Wagesa�. One Sunday evening, at
our home fellowship group, I introduced myself as “Wagesa�, explaining that it
was the Kenyan name given to me. A lady in the group told me: “That is
beautiful! Do you know what Wagesa means? It means “harvest�. It’s very
fitting.� My heart leapt at her words, knowing that the Lord was speaking to
me.
I truly
believe that the name was given to me because the Lord, in His sweetness, is
drawing me into a time of harvest in my life.This work was confirmed to me when I received an email recently from one of my best friends describing a dream that she had about me in which I was gathering up my harvest. I’m so thankful for what the Lord is doing.
He has spent a long time tilling up my heart, removing roots and weeds
and anything else that would hinder the beautiful fruit of His work. While the
work of preparing the fields of my heart is sometimes painful, the Lord has
carried me through straight into a time where I believe He is beginning to
reveal His harvest.
The Lord is
pouring out His Spirit in a new way (Isaiah 42:9) and using me in His Kingdom
in ways that I certainly wasn’t expecting. For the first time in my life, I am
genuinely believing in my heart (rather than just speaking with my mouth) that
He wants to use me in mighty ways for an eternal work because I am part of a
chosen, royal priesthood. He is filling my bones with fire to declare His word
and to see His kingdom come to earth. He is softening my heart to truly believe
that I am precious and beautiful in His sight and to walk forward in confidence
as a result, despite the world around me or the lies that come at me that may
try to convince me otherwise. He is placing a fervent excitement in my heart
about the future He has for me, knowing that He will use me in His kingdom and
use me to do eternal work.
It is
amazing to me that the Lord, because He is good, would patiently walk me
through a painful reaping process because He is able to see the harvest time
coming. While I have done nothing to deserve such a harvest in my life, He gives
me this promise: “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy� (Psalm
126:5).
I believe
that the harvest imagery that has been heavy on my mind is not only for me but
also for my team. My teammate Jenny has confirmed this. During a recent morning
prayer session, Jenny began talking about the current “harvest season� for our
team, sharing two different dreams that she has had recently.
After each of these dreams, Jenny has woken up with the same phrase in her mind: “It’s harvest time”. I believe that this season is something that the Lord is working in my whole team, and Jenny has confirmed that.
Scripture
is rich with imagery about harvest-time: something that is clearly important to
the heart of God. I looked up a few scriptures which declare the way that the
Lord works through this, and want to share them in order to give you a glimpse
of what is happening in my heart…
“Sow for
yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your
unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes and showers
righteousness on you� (Hosea 10:12)
“But now
that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit
you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life� (Romans 6:22)
“Let us not
become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we
do not give up� (Galatians 6:9).
“No
discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it
produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained
by it� (Hebrews 12:11)
“Peacemakers
who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness� (James 3:18)
During this
sweet time of harvest for myself and my team, I would ask that you would please
ask for protection over us from the schemes of the devil who “prowls around
like a roaring lion�. I know that he is quick to attack during times of intense
growth and fruit, and we have already seen his attempts. However, I know that
he is already defeated. Please pray that we, as a team, would continually walk
in that victory, daily putting on the armor of God.
With
love, Angela
p.s.- Anna Grace, I just read that Hosea verse for the first time the other day and typed it into this blog. Then, about ten minutes ago, I opened up your email where you included that very same verse at the end. The Lord speaks through you, girl.
