While reading through the book of Revelation with the CBR Journal, I remembered a story told by John Corts of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. When he was sixteen-years-old, he went with about eight of his cousins to his grandfather’s farm for a big celebration. The kids kept begging their grandfather to go work in the fields. After telling them no several times, he finally agreed saying, “All right, But you will not come in till the end of the day.” He then told John not to bring them back until the end of the day no matter how much they begged.
The kids were so happy. They were on the tractor pitching hay, and for about an hour it was wonderful. Then the sun came up, the hay went down their collars, and they began to get all gritty and grimy, and they asked John to take them in. But John told them, “Papa said we are going to stay out here all day.”
“But it’s hot,” they whined.
At noon they were hot, miserable, tired, and whining, “We want to go in.”
John told them, “Nope, we are going to stay out here the whole day. Papa said we are staying out here the whole day.” About three o’clock, there came an incredible thunderstorm and the lighting streaked across the sky. They asked to go in again, but I told them we were staying out there the whole day.
At the end of the day, about five o’clock, John said, “All right, we are going in.” They got in the wagon and left. When they got to the house, they got their baths and had their supper. They were so proud that they had stayed in the field all day long. And then their grandfather gathered them at the supper table and said, “Children, I want to tell you something. God has blessed us. We have a fine farm here. We’ve got a good heritage. Let me tell you why God has blessed us. There have been times when we were hot, tired, and grimy, and we wanted to come in, but we didn’t. We stayed in the fields. All that you see is because we learned the lesson of work. We learned what it means to stay in the field.”
In John 16:33, Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” We will have trials, but we also have the comfort of our Savior and the victory He provides through his death and resurrection.
As difficult as it may be at times, we need to “stay in the field”. The storms of life will bring trials and tribulations that will make us want to quit, and many of us have experienced that to some degree over the last six months. It will not always be easy, but we have to be faithful until the Lord Jesus returns. When He does return, will you be found faithfully serving Him?
~Pastor Allen