After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:1-3)
These people, the seventy-two, went before Jesus where He was about to go. Jesus not only gave them instruction for their mission trips, but He gave them insight that the harvest was plentiful with few laborers, and to pray that God would send out laborers into His harvest. And He says this right before He, the Lord of the Harvest, sends them out. So why tell them to pray when He was about to send them?
True Today
We have to remember that this wasn’t just for their sake, but for ours also. The same rings true today, we help to prepare the way in our modern times. We don’t do the work of salvation, but we labor for the Lord of the harvest. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t appear that as many people are eager to be sent out into the harvest if it doesn’t include comforts and amenities that they can access by staying where they’re settled. This may seem a bit pessimistic, but Jesus Himself said the laborers were few and think of this – do you personally know even 72 pastors and/or missionaries who have gone out into the plentiful harvest?
Now, don’t get me wrong, every believer is in a mission field, no matter where that is on the globe, because we are called to make disciples of all nations, which include those at home, close to home, all the way out to the ends of the earth. So even if God doesn’t call you into a far-off mission field, we’re still told by Jesus to pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Why? Because the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
I believe God is stirring hearts and calling people to go out, but how do you know if He’s sending you? Have you asked Him?
BUSY – Burdened Under Satan’s Yolk
There is a lot in our world that can keep one busy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are usually at least 8 hours a day spent at work, there are commute times, home responsibility times, fun times, but even in those hours of the day that aren’t filled, they are easily filled with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon…literally the possibilities are endless. But what if God is trying to get your attention and would like to send you somewhere, but you’re too busy to hear? Do you spend time waiting on Him and listening to what He has to say?
This applies not only to Him sending you out, but also in personal time with your Savior. In your mind, your knee jerk reaction may be that He’d never call you to leave your hometown, but I can guarantee you that regardless of whether God sends you far-off or keeps you local, you won’t be useful in your mission field if you’re not spending time in earnest prayer with the Lord of the harvest.
Being Sent Out
Now, there’s another aspect to this…what if you pray for Him to send laborers into the plentiful harvest and He tells YOU to go? Are you willing to go?
The way of the sent is hard. Jesus said He was sending them out as lambs in the midst of wolves, BUT Jesus also said that He will go with you wherever you go, that He will never leave or forsake you, and that He will give you words to speak in the moments you need it, even in the face of persecution.
I encourage you that as you pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest for laborers to be sent out into the plentiful harvest, that you would pray for a heart willing to be sent should God ever will to send you. To have an earnest desire to serve the Lord, in the way that Isaiah did when He heard God say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and to not have a defiant spirit like Jonah had as he literally ran from the calling. I pray that you would always have a heart like Jesus to say, “Not my will, but Yours, be done.”