The harvest is ready. Will you go? Are you happy to take what you carry within and offer it to those beyond the church? So many await a kiss from Christ – will you go?

With some unexpected time this morning, I turned my heart towards Jesus. Seeing it as an opportunity to prepare for Southern Prophetic Voices tonight, I began to tidy, when I had the sudden thought,

“I should pop up the street and see if I can get the dog bathed.”

It was an odd thought, since we bath our own dog, but with the winter sunshine aplenty, I got the dog lead and gathered my things.

Walking into a usually fully booked dog grooming salon, they greeted me with the news they could fit her in immediately.

Mmmm – God thought.

I had the thought while walking I would enjoy a chai latte in the sunshine at a particular cafe. I leaned into the heart of God, and knowing it was a great idea, I went.

Seat secured in the sunshine, chai in hand, I watched people come and go. Enjoying the moment, I saw an elegant woman ordering her coffee, and felt to pay.

Quietly standing by her side, I slipped my card under hers and quietly said, “Be blessed.”

Now bare with me. I share the detail to this moment, so you might savor the process with me. God was on the move.

I sat back down, and she sat at another table waiting for her order. We chatted, and she asked me if I did that often.

“Yes, I do, but I usually do it anonymously.”

“Wow, I feel so blessed. How do people usually respond?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I usually pay a coffee forward and leave the shop. They are simply random acts of kindness. We need more kindness in the world. There are no hidden cameras, by the way. It’s not an Instagram or TikTok moment.”

I laughed.

We got chatting about the area, the joy of living near the beach. The cold weather and the privilege of being in Melbourne with its cultural heritage. We moved onto family, and then I asked what she did.

“I’m in management in government, and I am actually a little stressed. It’s why I’m home today,” came the reply.

She was cautiously opening up.

Chatting some more, she found out I was an ex-immigration lawyer, and was in full-time ministry. It also surprised her to discover I was more an introvert in nature. She mentioned she was too, hence the break.

“Wow,” I said, “keep being you!”

“You’re the second person to say that to me today,” she said.

“Well, there’s a message in there for you then. In my world, I would say God is letting you know to be yourself. Indeed, looking at you, I believe you are very good at what you do. I encourage you to stay where you are at the executive level, but keep being you. I believe you are a beautiful example for younger women, and I sense you would be a great mentor to those coming behind you.”

“Wow. Yes.”

She had her coffee by now, so I smiled and encouraged her to enjoy her day.

“I feel so encouraged. Thank you. We might see each other again.”

I finished my coffee and walked towards home in the sunshine. I saw God’s hand on it all, and I delighted in being able to stop for the one, and bless a younger woman in business. The timing was a complete setup.

Oddly enough, it did not end with this encounter.

As I walked home, I saw the husband of a local friend. He mentioned to me a significant call happening this afternoon. I said I would pray.

The entire process took perhaps 40 minutes, and I returned by midday. I was no further behind in my day than I would otherwise have been.

I have the dog being washed for me, and I enjoyed a quiet chai in the sunshine. A young woman tasted of God’s goodness, and coincidently heard for the second time today how she needed to keep being herself. I also found out about an important event I could pray for, to support my friend.

The harvest is huge and ripe! But there are not enough harvesters to bring it all in.

~Mathew 9:37 TPT.

Learning how to recognize and respond to God’s voice is wonderful. Paul encourages us to earnestly, passionately desire the gifts, especially prophecy. This is not so we can remain in the bless me club of the church. While a wonderful expression of the gift of prophecy, to encourage, comfort and strengthen the church, I suggest it is time to take it out. This! is why I train and equip people – to live and respond to the voice of God as they go about their day. To use the gift throughout their lives – in business, child raising, encouraging one another, and loving the world to Christ.

It’s going to take an army, and people without agendas, to take the heart of God out into life and flow. Get empowered and equipped and then go. In fact, go as you get empowered and equipped! The gifts are for us all – for our own lives, for the Body of Christ too, but it is also for the one you walk past in your day as you do life! How else will they know? We do not need more programs, we just need to flow, and as we do, the world will taste and see that,

God is Good!

Matthew 9:36-37 – When he saw the vast crowds of people, Jesus’ heart was deeply moved with compassion, because they seemed weary and helpless, like wandering sheep without a shepherd. He turned to his disciples and said, “The harvest is huge and ripe! But there are not enough harvesters to bring it all in.

John 4:35-37 – As the crowds emerged from the village, Jesus said to his disciples, “Why would you say, ‘The harvest is another four months away’? Look at all the people coming—now is harvest time! For their hearts are like vast fields of ripened grain—ready for a spiritual harvest.

© Beth Kennedy 2024