Hauling soybean and corn two days per week has given me a wiser appreciation for farmers here in the Midwest. The hours are long and unpredictable, since the weather largely determines when you can harvest. And even if you are blessed to avoid pestilence, and receive plenty of rain and sunshine at the appropriate times, you still depend upon the fluctuating and unpredictable commodities market that determines the price per bushel. True, farmers are backed by the government just in case they lose their shirt. But, insurance safety-net is not a replacement for the satisfaction of working hard and earning an honest living; most men enjoy the fruit of their labor, not the welfare of the state.

On a deeper level, I am amazed at the amount of food that comes from the earth. About 8 acres can yield a semi load like this – about 57 thousand pounds of corn!

The Psalmist David said,

“You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it” (psalm 65:9). 

But David could only say this because God once said,

“Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their see, each according to its kind, on the earth. And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” – Genesis 1:11-12. 

It takes a lot of blind faith to believe that the earth just happens to sprout a food supply that sustains both man and beast. It is more reasonable to believe that behind all this food source is a loving God who is not only good but does good so that we may enjoy and give thanks for his abundant provisions.

Our hearts should praise and pray that the Lord would continue to sustain our lives. David prayed like this – may this be our prayer today:

“May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace; may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; may our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing; may there be no cry of distress in our streets! Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!” – Psalm 144:12-15.