It Happens in Stages

‘...first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain...’ Mark 4:28 NKJV

If you’re waiting for a promise God has given you to be fulfilled, observe the words of Jesus: ‘The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.’ (Mark 4:26–29 NKJV) Before you receive what God has promised, you often go through certain stages. Let’s look at them:

First there’s the ‘I don’t know’ stage. Your seed is in the ground; when it will produce a harvest is entirely up to God. But His Word assures you it will. Next comes ‘the blade’ stage. It’s just a tiny blade blowing in the breeze but it’s enough to encourage you and let you know that the answer is on the way. Next comes ‘the head’ stage. Now it’s starting to look like what you prayed for. Hopefully you’ve been watering it with prayer, fertilising it with God’s Word and protecting it from any negative force that would try to uproot it. Finally you enter ‘the full grain’ stage. This is when God says: ‘Put in the sickle, because your harvest has come.’ At this point it’s crucial to recognise your harvest and begin to reap it. Whatever stage you’re at today, stand on God’s promise and keep trusting Him. He will not disappoint you.