WRITTEN BY MICHELE HANSEN
Based on Revelation 19:6-8, this year we are exploring how the Believer’s righteous acts cover us in Christ’s righteousness and represent our Savior to the world.
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. (Hosea 10:12, ESV)
“Harvestation”—the result of harvesting. Like devastation is the result of something devastating. (But Michele, that’s not a word.) Sounds like it could be a word to me.
Here in the Midwest, we know about farmin’. Most of us have either worked on a farm, been to a farm, lived on a farm…taken the time to moo at cows in a field as you were driving by… (com’on now, you know you’ve done it…)
One thing that every farmer or gardener knows is that you need to have good soil to grow good produce. Fallow ground is, by definition, ground that has been given rest. It has not been cultivated for a season or more. It is ground that has been allowed to sit unused…it has been “unproductive”.
I had to do some research on the word “fallow”, because I was kinda bantering with God about what the verse was suggesting and what the meaning of the word was saying…I believe the Lord was leading Hosea to prophesy against Isreal because they had let the soil of their hearts become hard and full of thorns…. unproductive.
In the New Testament, there is a parable that Jesus told about the soils. (Matthew 13:1-22) Jesus was talking about the different conditions of the heart and how they respond to the word of God. He used a common life experience to explain the mystery of the human condition as it relates to the Lord and His word. He likened it to “farming”.
Back in the day when this parable was taught, they didn’t have fancy farmin’ equipment. It was hard work to till up the ground, pull the weeds and prepare the ground to receive the seed. Then they would have a bag of seed hung over a shoulder and they would take handfuls of seed and fling it out on the ground. The analogy of the soils comes from the fact that as that seed was flung, it landed all over the place.
Just like the seed, His word is spread everywhere. Even on the ones whose hearts are as hard as that path, or too distracted by their own lives and emotions like the weeds, or the ones who are too concerned about the things of the world like the shallow soil. God knows the condition of everyone’s heart, but we don’t. He’s the one who defines eternity in the hearts of men. We are called to be sowers and waterers and harvesters.
Our focus verse tells us to “break up your fallow ground”. To prepare the soil of our hearts to receive the Lord’s “seed”; His holy word. This infers that there is a process to being able to receive from the Lord. There is a “turning over” of the soil of our hearts. Tilling and preparing soil makes the ground soft. God will use His word, worship, life, and anything else to soften us, if we will allow Him to. We can choose to harden our hearts, to turn away from His ministrations, to ignore His promptings and lose the opportunity to receive….
When we realize that God is the one who created us, loves us and has a divine purpose for us, we will trust Him in all circumstances…even the ones that turn us inside out.
And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. (2 Peter 1:4, NLT)
The circumstances of the preparation of our hearts to receive His word may seem hard and damaging, but know this, not a thing comes to you that has not first passed through Him and He has already prepared the way for you through all things. It is always for our good and His glory.
God knows what it is going to take to bring you into the most fruitful place in your life. When we surrender ourselves to the Lord and bow before His sovereign will, being totally sold out for Him, He will manifest Himself in our life in ways that astound, confuse, delight, overwhelm and in all ways, cause us to worship and adore Him.
If I was a crop of something, what would I want to be…sunflowers. No hesitation. It’s not that I love sunflower seeds, I just love the acres of big, bright, yellow flowers that follow the sun on its path through the sky every day. That’s what I want my heart for the Lord to be like. I want my heart to follow the Lord wherever He goes, trusting Him for the harvest and being a “bold flower” that points to the Son, every day.
Dear Lord,
I admit, sometimes it’s hard to walk through the things You say are Your will and good for me. I want to be willing to receive what You set before me and walk in Your power and grace, especially when it’s hard.
I want my life to glorify You and that means trusting You with my whole life, not just bits and pieces. I pray that my life can be a testimony to Your faithful love and a harvest of righteousness in Your Name.
In Jesus Name
