“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest”. (Matthew 9:37-38).  

As a business owner, I have been praying that God would provide me the manpower to perform the work He has given me.  As in Proverbs 3, my “barns are filled with plenty, and my vats are overflowing.”  That is to say, I have a super abundant amount of work, but too few workers to do it.  

“Now you know how I feel,” the Lord seems to say.  “There is a plentiful harvest, but I’ve too few workers.  For this reason pray.”  

I wonder at what to do with this.  I myself have ‘volunteered’ freely over the years; I’ve prayed the prayer and said, “Use me and Barb.”  But no reason to wonder, as the Lord tells me what to do.  He says, “Beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”  So what am I to do?  Pray.  Make it a daily request.  

Actually, it needs to go beyond just asking.  Jesus says, “Beseech the Lord.”  Meaning, “to beg for urgently or anxiously.”  In other words, it is not just a perfunctory prayer; there is to be heart and soul behind it, a sense of desperation.  Similar to what I feel when I look at what I’ve to do and the limited resources I have to do it.  

We all (the church, that is) speak regularly of the great coming harvest of souls, such as has never been seen before.  Seems to me it is already upon us.  That is, the Lord says “the harvest is plentiful.”  It is already plentiful.  There is just no one to harvest it.  And what happens when a crop comes to fruition and doesn’t get harvested?  It rots and goes to waste.  How many souls are ‘wasted’ because there is no one to ‘harvest’ them?  They, through the activity of the Holy Spirit drawing them to Jesus, come to the place where they are ready to receive Him (though they likely know it not), but there is no one to lead the way.

In our case and at this time it is hard to get workers because many are on the government dole.  During this so-called pandemic crisis, where much of the economy is shut down, the government is paying workers more to not work that they would make if they were working.  They are comfortable right where they are at.  Why work?  

This seems like a type of the church–don’t get me wrong, I am part of the church; I speak with regards to myself.  We are quite comfortable where we are at; we don’t feel the need.  All the while, however,  there are people ready to meet the Lord, and the Lord needs workers.  Which is why He says, “Now you know how I feel.”  

Here Jesus says to His disciples, “pray”–or “beseech,” rather.  A few years later He says, “Go.”  That is to say, you pray and then you go.  

I note that the prayer is for the Lord to “send out workers.”  Really, the word is “thrust,” or “force.”  Two pictures come to mind.  The little bird whose mother feels it is time for her to fly, so she kicks the little one out of the nest.   And this one: the parachutist who for fear is reluctant to make the jump, but his friend pushes him out into the air.  What the Lord is saying is that we pray God would do a similar thing to His workers.  We are all workers, you know; every Christian is a worker.  Not that we all work; actually, the point is we don’t.  But the prayer is that God will give us a ‘little boost.’  

So it is, “Lord, thrust out workers into Your harvest. Force them out!”  

This happened in Acts chapter 8.  It took a little persecution to get the church moving.  Actually, it took a “great persecution” to get it moving.  Will this be needed in our day?  I pray not.  I would rather volunteer freely (see Psalm 110:3).   Yet something like this seems to me to be a real possibility in the days to come.  

I think there is a “Help Wanted” sign on the door of the church.   The Lord calls for His workers.  I come, Lord.  I come.   Sign me up.