Have you ever thought about that scripture?

Matthew 9:37 (NASB) says, “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” 

• It mentions the harvest not just being ready but being plentiful.
• It mentions the workers being few.
• But it never mentions the tools, does it?

After all, every good farmer knows that it doesn’t matter how many people you have ready to help, if you don’t have the right tools, the harvest is going to go bad right where it stands.
In the text, Jesus is going through cities and villages teaching, proclaiming and healing. He felt compassion on the people because they were “distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.” (vs. 35-36)

As they say in the State Farm commercials, “I’m there.” My heart grieves for those who woke up this morning and said, “It’s Monday – now what do I do?”

We’re talking about people who are in the midst of life’s deepest troubles. Marital separation, divorce, spiritual desert, broken and almost broken families, discontent singles, abuse victims, abusers - the list is endless.

Several of these folks came to me and asked, “Who do you know that can recommend a resource so that I can get back on track?” At first, my response was “go to your pastor.” But if we all go to our pastors, let me just tell you, our pastors are going to be overwhelmed. And then I said, “Read your Bible” to which I was asked, “Okay…where?” I beseeched them to pray and to that they said, “I don’t know where or how to start.”

I get it. These are folks that have the prickling of the Holy Spirit – that little voice that says “do something and do something now” but in a world ripe of Biblical and Christian resources, don’t know where to get started.

And that’s when it hit me. I might not know of the best resources out there to recommend for each person or need, but I know there are hundreds of you that DO know.

So, invoking Matthew 9:38 in a real and practical way, I ask – what do you know, what do you recommend, where do you send people who want to pull their bootstraps up and get back on this horse we call life?

What can people put in the tool sheds of their hearts and lives to help them recover from where they’ve been? Here are a few needs I’ve heard in the last week:

• Marriage – in various stages
• Divorce – in various stages
• Family – what does a healthy one look like and how can I get there?
• Spiritual desert – how do I get back to God?
• Forgiveness
• Prayer
• Personal Bible Study – what’s a good one for men, women and children?
• Devotional/Quiet Time material – How can I focus my day on Christ?
• Worship

There are other needs, for sure. And if you know of them and have resources for them, please post them. If you don’t feel comfortable commenting with your information below, please send me an email by clicking here.

The harvest is plentiful. The harvest is ready. Let’s equip the workers with the tools they need. Won’t you please help?