Posted on: 17th September 2026

I’m currently in Belgium, and have been for a few weeks. Every day I’ve ridden my bike along the same stretch of West-Flemish farm roads, passing the same corn fields and studying their change. Some of these fields have already had their harvest, their stalks cut clean near the base exposing the dry and stubbled ground. Some fields are yet to be tended; the corn is still standing, scorched and turned brittle by an unforgivingly hot summer. This morning, before a long overdue downpour, I watched one farmer hastily cut his crop, while the neighbouring field stood untouched. 

It struck me how in seemingly equal conditions, two farmers made two very different decisions. One judged that this was the moment, that now was the time to get his crop in before the weather turned and the rain did more harm than good to his already stressed corn. The other read the same dry stalks and decided to wait, hoping the rain would resurrect his. Neither farmer is wrong, they just know their own field.

I think we often assume our lives and our faith should collectively align. As humans we like tidy timelines — everyone ripening together, unanimous in our approach, simultaneously happy, or lamenting at the same time. James 5:7: "Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.” James writes farmer, singular, not farmers. Not every farmer waits the same length of time, but James does tell us that they do so attentively and discerningly. They're not rushing, but they’re not idle either.

Maybe you're approaching your ‘harvest’ right now. Perhaps there’s something you've tended for a while that is finally ready, and now is the time to act. Or maybe your field still looks dry and scorched, and you’re stuck waiting for the right moment while everyone around you seems to be bringing something in.

Neither is wrong; both are faithful. The farmer who harvests early isn't any more obedient than the one who waits, and the one still waiting isn't behind. They're simply listening to their own field, under the same sky, trusting the same God with the timing. 

Have faith that God knows when your crop is ready, and knows when the timing will be just right.