“For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” John 4:37-38
Jesus is saying, “I sent you to reap! So stop saying, ‘Four more months till harvest.’” Quit telling yourself that people in a secular culture aren’t interested, and that no one will respond. It’s not true!
There are always people who are ready to hear the gospel and respond to Christ. There are people in your sphere of influence who may be more ready to come to faith in Jesus Christ than you might think. The only way to find out who they are is to tell everyone you can.
None of us knows what God may have done in the life of another person already. Someone else may have ‘labored’ in the life of your friend or neighbor. Someone else may have done the hard work of prayer and of sowing the seed of the Word. They did not see a harvest, but unknown to you, the seed was planted, and you may have the joy of reaping that for which you did not labor.
How could you know if that woman in your office has a mother who has been praying for her every day for the last 10 years? How could you know if your neighbor once had a Christian friend who made a deep impression on him for good? The joy we have in sharing the gospel is that you never know what God has done before, and you never know afterward what God will do as a result of you sowing the seed.
Are you subconsciously telling yourself that people aren’t interested in the gospel and that no one will respond to it? If so, ask God to help you refute this lie.