Today I share the first part of my communion time with the Holy Spirit on the benefits of Covenant with the Lord.

In communion time with the Holy Spirit, the Lord brought Isaiah 58:3 to mind as a powerful example of the covenant relationship between the Lord and His people. This passage reveals something important about one of the greatest privileges available to us the followers and lovers of the Lord which is the ability to have an ongoing conversation with the Lord about His ordinances and how they apply to our lives.

The Holy Spirit has taught me over time that asking the Lord relevant questions about His Word, His instructions, and the results we are experiencing is a priority that can produce tremendous dividends and more substantial God-results.

Isaiah 58:3 says these words: “‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’” The first important observation is that a covenant partner with the Lord understands that obedience to the Lord’s instructions is connected to us receiving the corresponding result or benefit promised.

These people were essentially asking, “Why have we obeyed Your instruction to fast, yet we are not seeing the result we expected?” They were not simply abandoning the Lord because they saw no immediate manifestation. They were bringing the discrepancy in their results to Him and asking for understanding what had gone wrong.

The Holy Spirit then connected this truth with the disciples’ experience in Matthew 17:19, where they privately asked Jesus the question: “Why could we not cast it out?” This question was critical for them, because if the disciples had simply concluded that Jesus did not want to help them, or that the situation was impossible, they would have missed the correction they needed.

Their willingness to ask why they had not obtained the expected result opened the door for Jesus to reveal to them what they had missed. Once they received the appropriate correction, they could obtain the Lord’s result in that present situation and also carry the understanding forward into future situations they would face.

This fact establishes an important principle that when we have obeyed what the Lord instructed and yet do not see the corresponding result, we should seek the Lord for understanding rather than immediately conclude that He does not want to answer us according to His promise. The Lord never instructs His people to do something without purpose and an expected good beneficial outcome.

Therefore, when the expected God-result has not appeared, it is vital to ask, “Lord, what have I missed? What needs to be corrected? Or what is preventing the manifestation of what You have promised?” Returning to Isaiah 58:3, the people were essentially accusing the Lord of failing to notice their fasting because their expectation was that when they sacrificed food for a season in order to seek the Lord, He would see their sacrifice and respond favourably on their behalf.

They believed they had fulfilled their side of the covenant concerning fasting and therefore wanted to know why they were not experiencing the corresponding benefit which is the Lord stepping in to give them triumph. The Holy Spirit therefore emphasised that we the followers of Jesus should continually examine situations where we are not seeing the results associated with the Lord’s instructions for the relevant situation.

So rather than presuming that the Lord is unwilling to answer favourably, we should cooperate with the process by asking Him what has gone wrong and what adjustment is necessary for us to make. This example from 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 reinforces this principle because it demonstrates the power of seeking the Lord in a crisis and the way the Lord responds when His people turn toward Him.

As followers of Jesus we should therefore remain conscious not merely of the seed being sown but also of the harvest the Lord intends to produce from that seed. The central revelation of this message is that we should become harvest-minded in everything we do concerning the Lord. This is because the Lord is not merely the Lord of the seed but He is also the Lord of the harvest.

Genesis 8:22 establishes the continuing principle which reads these words: “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”
Therefore, whenever we sow the Word of the Lord into a situation, we should not stop at only just sowing, but we should expect the harvest that Lord has promised for choosing to sow in obedience to Him.

This reality of sowing and reaping is illustrated clearly by Jesus in Luke 6:38 which reads these words: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

The truth behind this principle is that giving always carries an expectation of receiving a return. So if a person does not want anything returned, they should not give; but once we give according to the Lord’s Word, we are obligated to expect the promised harvest.

The return is described as abundant by Jesus which is good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men bring into our bosom. Thus, the follower of Jesus should not merely celebrate the act of giving in obedience, but there should also be an expectation of the God-appointed result/ harvest connected with that obedience.

I declare that the Holy Spirit is awakening in you a fresh understanding of the covenant relationship you have with the Lord. So you will no longer become discouraged when you do not immediately see the results connected to your obedience, but you will have grace to ask the right questions, to hear the Lord’s answers, by receiving His correction, and making every adjustment necessary to come into the manifestation of His promises in your lives.

I declare that every place where you have obeyed the Lord but have not yet experienced the corresponding harvest is coming under the light of the Holy Spirit. So that what you have missed out on will be revealed which ensures that what needs to be corrected will be corrected. Then what needs to be restored will be restored, so that what has appeared lost will not remain lost.

It is time to receive the grace to become harvest-minded in your prayer, fasting, giving, obedience, and every other area in which you sow according to the Lord’s Word. You will no longer faint in the process of seedtime, but you will stand in faith for your harvest. Be open to the Lord of the harvest who is bringing you into the results He intended for you when you obeyed Him in Jesus name. Amen.