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A couple years ago in Germany, we experienced a traffic phenomenon called a Stau (pronounced "shtow" - truly a great German word!). Now, a stau is basically a traffic jam, but when you say "stau" with some disdain in your voice, it sounds so much better and angrier than "traffic jam". The driver we were with had a GPS that had a traffic feature on it, so we knew we were approaching the stau before we hit it, and he got us off the highway onto some side roads to try to avoid it. Unfortunately, this shortcut didn't end up working out so well, and we ended up spending a few hours making our way through traffic to get to our destination - quite late for dinner.
 
Now, shortcuts while we're driving can sometimes work out pretty well, but shortcuts in life...
 
In Proverbs 20.4, we get some words of wisdom about shortcuts: "Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing."
 
The sluggard - the lazy guy - doesn't do the hard work at the time when it's needed, and as a result, there's nothing there when the harvest comes. Basically - If you don't plow when it's time to plow, you will miss out on the harvest! Now, I get why this guy doesn't want to do the plowing when it's time to - plowing is not flashy or glamorous. It doesn't look like much when you do it, nor is it immediately gratifying. 
 
However, without doing this boring, repetitive, mundane activity of preparation, you'll never be in on the harvest! And the harvest is when things are like a big party where you get to enjoy an abundance of good things!
 
I have struggled at times with procrastination and laziness - looking for an easier way out so that I can do the fun things now, and still get a great benefit at the end.
  • Financially - wanting to be able to go and spend on toys (the older I get, the more expensive they are) and still have a healthy savings account
  • Academically - wanting to be able to hang out with people and have fun, and still achieve high marks
  • Work - wanting to be able to do the things that I find interesting when I want to do them, and yet expecting that great things that require a lot of disciplined hard work will still come about
  • Physically - wanting to eat and drink whatever, and still expect to lose weight and come to a better place of fitness.
In all these things, 'plowing' is important. Plowing, that preparatory work, is what leads to success and fulfillment down the road. When we 'plow' in whatever area of life we're talking about, we won't be able to see an immediate result, but the unseen results will set you up for future success. And truly, God honours the work done in secret, and will one day bring about a great reward.
 
When we're living life following Jesus, we're called to not only hear his words and commands, but to actually do them! Sometimes, living these things out seems pretty mundane an small, and yet we are called to live with integrity in all these matters! This too is like "plowing" - doing the right things that may not even be seen so that we will be able to enjoy the harvest.
 
May we see the importance of the work we do in advance of the harvests in our lives, and be faithful to apply ourselves to that work with diligence and thanksgiving for the opportunities it brings!
 
On that day in Germany in 2010, we didn't experience much of the thrill of flying along at high speeds on the autobahn, but, with some patience and perseverance, we did arrive at our destination and did get to enjoy a sweet time of friendship with some great people. The shortcuts didn't really help out much, but following through led us to a great reward!