Luke 10:2-3 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. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
When Yeshua (Jesus) spoke these words not only to the seventy He sent ahead of Him, but to every disciple who follows Him into the world, it’s a striking picture: fields overflowing with a harvest, ready to be gathered. The problem isn’t the readiness of the harvest — it’s the shortage of workers willing to go.
“The harvest is plentiful…” These words should ignite faith within us. They remind us that Abba has already been at work—preparing hearts, breaking up the hard ground, and causing seeds of truth to grow. Our role is not to make the harvest happen but to join Him in reaping what He has already made ready.
But Yeshua doesn’t stop there. He says, “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest…” The first step is not action—it is intercession. Before we go, we must seek His face. When we pray for laborers, something happens in us: our hearts align with His, and we often become part of the answer to our own prayer.
Then comes the sobering truth: “Go your way… I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” This mission will not be without cost. The world may oppose the message of the Kingdom. But our confidence doesn’t rest in our strength — it rests in the Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep.
We go not in fear, but in faith. Not with force, but with love. Not as predators, but as peacemakers—carrying the message of redemption and the power of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).
The time is now. The fields are not just ready — they are bursting with opportunity. Yeshua did not speak these words to inspire passivity, but to ignite purpose. You were not saved to sit — you were saved to be sent. The same Spirit that empowered the early disciples burns within you. The same voice that called them still calls today: “Go.”
Yes, the wolves are real. The resistance is real. But so is the power, the protection, and the presence of Yeshua, who walks with you. You are not going alone — you are being sent by the King of Kings, commissioned by the Lord of the Harvest, and carried by the strength of the Ruach HaKodesh.
So rise up, laborer. Shake off fear. Step into the harvest fields with boldness and compassion. Speak truth. Show mercy. Proclaim the Kingdom. You were made for this moment. Now go—and reap.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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A “second time.” Jonah’s repentance gave him a second chance to obey the Lord and to fulfill his ministry. And he did it successfully. The apostle Paul tells us that “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” [Romans 11:29]. Jonah’s disobedience did not take away his calling as a prophet. The discipline of the Lord was fruitful in his life. But compare King Saul. He also got a second chance after failing to wait for Samuel [1 Samuel 13] and he disobeyed again, and lost his kingship [1 Samuel 15]. But even that took many years to transpire after David was anointed.
Jonah now acknowledges that God put him where he is, and he accepts His discipline. “Sheol” is the “grave”, the “pit” or the “abode of the dead”. Did Jonah die, or was he only nearly dead from three days of fish stomach acid, and little or no air? The text doesn’t say; only that if he didn’t actually leave his body, he came as close as a man can get to it; three days worth. In this nebulous and miserable place Jonah cried out, probably from the deepest depths of his agonized soul…he cried out to the Lord.
While most read the story of Jonah focusing on Jonah’s journey, I want to pause and examine the lives of the pagan sailors. What a journey they were on! We see the hand of God touching them providentially through Jonah’s disobedience. Talk about God bringing good from evil.
So the captain came to Jonah, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” At this point the captain (who probably worshiped Baal and Yamm, god of the sea) has more faith than Jonah.
It must have been a bad storm. These men were experienced, hardened sailors who had seen it all at sea. If they were scared, this could have been the first “perfect storm” since Noah’s flood. So they started the first interfaith prayer meeting in the Bible, each man crying out to his own god. As the ship groaned and creaked in howling wind and massive waves, and the men threw cargo overboard in a desperate attempt to save it, where was Jonah? On deck helping them? Confidently praying to His own God? Shaking with fear and paralyzed with deep conviction? No, he’s taking a nap down below…
Back in the third century Cyprian the Bishop of Carthage wrote to his friend Donatus: “It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered, in the midst of it, a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret.
For the next week or so we’ll be looking closely at the life of Jonah the prophet. Jonah was told to “preach against the city of Nineveh”, that was in the ancient kingdom of Assyria. Nineveh was a major city on the banks of the Tigris River about 500 miles north and east of where Jonah was; located on a contemporary map in modern Iraq, about 300 miles north of Baghdad. Archaeologists have found the ruins of ancient Nineveh right outside the Iraqi city of Mosul. Yes, the same Mosul that was taken last week by jihadists!