Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. | Genesis 26:12

The Lord has been speaking to me on the power of our seed. In the book of Mark, there is a parable that teaches about planting seed and gathering a harvest. It says, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how” (Mark 4:26-27). Similarly, I heard the Lord say to me, “If you are wanting to reap a harvest, you need to first plant a seed.”

Recently, I felt the Lord’s prompting to sow into someone. I set aside a love gift with the intention of giving it to this person, only to receive an extra—albeit small—amount of money later that week. Even though the extra cash was an insignificant amount, the Lord encouraged me to combine it with the love gift I had already prepared to give. Obediently, I pulled together all of the funds, and placed the money in an envelope, along with a card of blessing and encouragement. The amazing thing is, before I was even able to give the card, someone else blessed me with a gift that happened to be a ten fold return of what I was about to sow!

I believe that the Lord honored my obedience, and that the principle of seed time and harvest was in operation.

A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed (Proverbs 11:25).

It is true that God sees our heart, and will not fail to honor us when we obey Him. I am reminded of the widow in the Bible, who was down to the last of her resources, yet faithfully gave all that she had. The Lord blessed her, and her supply never ran dry (1 Kings 17:15). As we look to the needs of others and remain Kingdom-minded, God will see to it that our own needs are met, as well.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).

It can be tempting during times of drought to hold back, but I believe that as we release what’s in our hand, we are aligning with God’s heart and trusting Him to meet our needs. Jesus saw the widow’s heart when she put her last coin into the offering, saying that even though she had little, she had given more than all the others by releasing what was in her hand (Mark 12:41-44).

Don’t let the fear of what you can’t do stop you from from doing what you can. What’s in your hand?