The Wisdom of Harvestores

^{I love the story of Joseph, of Technicolor coat fame.  He’s also the one that had the bright idea to build large storehouses to put up the grain for the seven bumper-crop years and then portion it out during the famine (also of seven years.)  And Joseph was in charge of the storehouses, which made him a powerful entity, but without this plan the people would have been goners.} 

^{So it turned out to be a pretty good plan.}

^{Here in the rural Midwest, storehouses are also used.  And you don’t TOUCH the grain until the farmer says it’s time.  Only he wields the authority as to when the grain is supposed to come out and how much and for what use.  One does not question the wisdom of the farmer.} 

^{But, spiritually speaking, I still have this bent in me that wants it all now, instead of faithfully investing into God’s storehouse for His future use.  Evidently, God must have thought storehouses were a good thing for more than just our paychecks:}

“ ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

^{So, yeah, there’s money (i.e., the hard working individual who faithfully gives without seeing the financial return that so many of us think we deserve), but how about talent (i.e., the time it takes to practice, practice, practice at whatever “talent” is had, before ever being recognized and used in that way)?} 

^{Here’s a huge one: time.  This one comes in all kinds of ways!  Jesus mentioned a few; let’s see, visiting the sick, helping the poor…}

^{Ever feel like your time is being wasted teaching Sunday School?  (In fact, working with young people for God’s kingdom is a ginormous storehouse—you may never see the results until eternity opens its doors to us.)}

^{In my area of the planet, storehouses are a tangible reminder of the need to prepare faithfully.  To protect tenaciously.  To keep in mind the ultimate goal: to provide what is needed in a moment’s notice.}

^{God’s storehouse—to prepare, protect, and provide.  Still a pretty good plan.}

 Malachi 3:10,11  New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation