Weekly devotion: In celebration of the Harvest Festival
MERATH, Lebanon
Many churches will have celebrated the Harvest Festival over the weekend. As we thank God for his goodness and bountiful gifts, our thoughts and prayer turn to a sustainable agriculture project we support in Lebanon.
Since the economic crisis began in Lebanon in 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost over 98% of its value. Many families face a daily struggle to get food on the table and reduced to eating very limited, unhealthy diets.
In response, churches in Lebanon have turned to digging up and cultivating their own land to produce fresh vegetables that can be distributed free of charge or at subsidised rates to those living on, or below, the breadline.
Thanks to funding from Embrace and the help of an agroecology expert, over 6,000m2 of land belonging to three different churches have been cultivated using environmentally friendly methods in a project overseen by our partner Middle East Revive and Thrive (MERATH).
The project has provided vital employment for refugee families who are trained in sustainable farming skills to tend and harvest the crops.
As the project grows, the plan is to diversify further, cultivating more land and rearing chickens and cows, as well as promoting sustainable farming methods in the communities. Please join us in praying that this year’s crop will be a bountiful blessing to all who receive it.
Thanks to this project, last summer almost 5,245kg of vegetables were produced and distributed to 279 families.
Bible reading
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Matthew 9: 35-38
Thought
During Jesus’ life and ministry, he encountered many people in the towns and villages he visited. And as he continued to minister to their needs, his fame spread and more and more people came to him for help and healing.
This passage paints a beautiful picture of the compassionate heart of Jesus for ordinary people who are like ‘sheep without a shepherd’. We see this compassion reflected in the work of our local Christian partners in the Middle East, including MERATH, as they respond to the great physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people in their communities.
Ask yourself: What does it look like to be a worker in the Lord’s harvest field?
Prayer
Generous God,
We praise you for your unending goodness and thank you that you give us the fruits of the earth in their season. We pray that we would use this harvest season for your glory: for our own wellbeing and also for the relief of those who are in need.
We lift before you the sustainable agriculture project in Lebanon – it is such an incredible provision for families in need, and we pray for a bountiful harvest this autumn. May your blessing be upon this project as it grows and develops.
We pray that we would reflect your hearty of mercy and compassion in our own lives. May we be willing workers for the harvest – use us to respond mercifully to those in need and to draw others to Jesus.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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