Light of the World Today
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7 NIV
Not every challenge is sent by God as formation and not every challenge is the enemy opposing your progress. Some challenges are simply the natural consequence of a specific door that was left open. A decision made carelessly. A habit allowed to grow unchallenged. A relationship entered unwisely. A compromise made repeatedly until what started as an occasional exception became a permanent pattern. This is the third category and it requires the most honesty to address because it asks the most uncomfortable question of all. Is it possible that I am the source of this difficulty?
What a Consequence Challenge Actually Looks Like
Galatians 6:7 in the NIV is one of the most direct and the most compassionately honest verses in the entire New Testament. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. That is not a threat. It is a description of how a morally ordered universe functions. The harvest always reflects the seed. Financial difficulty that traces directly to spending patterns that have never been submitted to God. Relational breakdown that began with a consistent pattern of dishonesty or selfishness. Health consequences from habits that have been present for years. Career setbacks from a pattern of cutting corners that eventually caught up. These are consequence challenges. And the specific thing that makes them different from the formation and opposition categories is that they require a different response. Not primarily perseverance or resistance. Repentance, correction and the closing of the open door.
"Don't be misled. Remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow."
Galatians 6:7 NLT
The Good News About Consequence Challenges
Here is what is genuinely encouraging about this category. If you sowed the seed that produced this harvest, you also have the capacity to sow different seeds that produce a different harvest. The same principle that produced the difficulty can be used to reverse it. Galatians 6:8-9 in the NLT says those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let us not get tired of doing what is good. The harvest of good seeds is just as certain as the harvest of bad ones. The problem is that people want the new harvest immediately while still sowing the old seeds. The correction of a consequence challenge requires changing what you are sowing and then having the patience to wait for the new harvest to arrive.
Hosea 10:12 in the NLT says plant the good seeds of righteousness and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you. Plow first. That means breaking up the hardened patterns, the entrenched habits and the comfortable compromises that have been producing the wrong harvest. Then plant. Then wait. The harvest will come. It is as certain as the one you are currently experiencing.
How to Apply This Today
Be honest rather than blaming circumstances
The first and the most important step in addressing a consequence challenge is the willingness to be honest with yourself about its origin. Proverbs 28:13 in the NLT says people who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. Not partial honesty. Full honesty. Named specifically. Before God and if necessary before another trusted person. Concealment extends the harvest of the wrong seed. Honest acknowledgement is the first act of plowing.
Close the open door specifically and completely
James 4:7 in the NIV says submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Submission to God comes first. And submission means surrendering the specific habit, pattern or relationship that has been producing the consequence. Not a general religious recommitment. A specific and complete closing of the specific door. The Ephesian believers in Acts 19 burned their scrolls publicly. They did not keep one or two for sentimental reasons. They burned them all. That quality of completeness is what a genuine turning from a consequence challenge requires.
Begin sowing the right seeds today, not when the consequence has passed
The new harvest does not begin on the day the consequence resolves. It begins on the day you start sowing differently. Begin tithing if financial patterns have been wrong. Begin choosing honesty consistently if dishonesty has been the pattern. Begin giving your time to relationships that nourish rather than drain your faith. The seeds you plant today are the harvest you will experience in the seasons ahead.
Conclusion
The consequence challenge is the one that requires the most honesty and the most decisive action. Be honest about the seed. Close the door completely. Start sowing differently today. The harvest will change because the seed has changed. Part 5 covers the fourth and final category of challenge, the challenge that comes as preparation, and why the most significant seasons of your life are often preceded by the most uncomfortable ones.
Memory Verse
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
Galatians 6:7 NIV
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Key scriptures: Galatians 6:7 NIV and NLT, Galatians 6:8-9 NLT, Hosea 10:12 NLT, Proverbs 28:13 NLT, James 4:7 NIV, Acts 19:19 NIV