Every Friday I join a community of bloggers for Five Minute Friday. One word prompt, five minutes. Unedited. The prompt this week is … Break.
Sitting with the word before me, it was easy to let my thoughts turn to all that is broken in our world. There is not a part of society which is not broken be it in our education, financial, political, religious, or personal aspects of life.
Maybe it is because we are coming into this holy time – Palm Sunday, and the onset of Holy Week. We tend to be more reflective, and should be. The verse comes quietly into my thoughts and reaching for my Bible, the words are before me:
“Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.”
(Hosea 10:12, NASB)
“Break up your fallow ground.” Not a term we use much unless we’re farmers. Fallow ground is land which could be productive but isn’t. It is land that has not been tilled (broken up), it’s not prepared for use, it can be a little hardened.
And here we are told to break up our fallow ground, our hearts. The part of our lives we have let go and has lacked productivity. There are parts of our lives, talents and abilities if you will, which we could be using for to bring about good.
It’s time, for each of us to do a little introspective work, allowing the Lord to break up those parts of us which have gotten a little hardened from lack of use.
We need to seek Him and let Him break up those parts till they are soft and once again pliable in His hands. Let Him teach us until He once again rains blessing on our lives and brings a harvest of righteousness.
“Let His love rain down upon youBreaking up your fallow groundLet it loosen all the bindingTill only tenderness is found
Don’t let your heart be hardenedDon’t let your love grow cold.”
(from “Don’t Let Your Heart Be Hardened” by Petra)
Image by chantal MURE from Pixabay
Today I may be joining …
As soon as I saw the photo and read the title, I knew I was being invited to respond, so here goes my friend. LOL
Fallow ground MUST be broken, but before you do there’s two things you need to understand. One is why it lay fallow. Two is what you plan to do with it. Farmers can leave ground fallow for two reasons. First, a farmer may decide that it needs a season to rest and rejuvenate itself after several seasons of growth. Sometimes, the land needs a chance to rest (i.e., catch its breath and take in more nourishment to replace what’s been taken out in the growing process.) Second, a farmer may decide that the piece of ground is not worth the investment to till, fertilize, and plant, opting for a better time to use it. If a piece of ground is not as productive as others (e.g., poor soil conditions, drainage, etc.), then it will be left fallow for when conditions are more favorable to bringing about quality growth and a good harvest. When we consider that our Father is much like a farmer, we can understand why He chooses to leave us fallow for a season, but He NEVER leaves us this way. The tilling, the breaking of fallow ground, always comes, but in His time and not a time of our choosing. Amen young lady. Great lesson here.
J.D., I so appreciate the lessons you shared here! You are a farmer and a rancher, and the lessons are precious! Thank you for taking the time to share so fully. We are best to leave ourselves in His hands, for His timing and purposes in every season. May our hearts remain soft and pliable in His hands.
A beautiful reminder, Joanne, to keep our hearts tender before Him.
I like the verse that you have chosen and your insight! It is true that God wants us to be productive, bearing fruit. It brings to mind Jesus’ words: “I’m the vine and my Father is the vinedresser.” John 15:1
Yeah, the world is all messed up,
that’s the picture TV paints,
and there seem folks who want to sup
on the corpses of the saints.
Is there some way out of this
whirligig of abject loss?
There is, starting with Judas’ kiss,
and ending at the Cross
where a sinless Life was given,
one that only He could give,
so all our sins could be forgiven,
and we might have the choice to live
far better days upon this Earth,
the leaven of our second birth.
Oh yes, this message is so timely! I pray that the time has come for many to receive the word of God gladly. There are so many that need him. Visiting from FMF#13
This reminds me of God saying so often in the OT that His people were “stiff-necked.” It’s all too easy to become hard either through neglect or stubbornness. I think of JD’s mention of soil that becomes fallow due to nutrients taken out during growth. Hos we need to replenish our hearts in God’s Word.
*How, not hos.
Thanks for the song link. I had not heard that one before.
Breaking up our fallow ground can sometimes feel painful, but what a harvest awaits us when we have the courage to do it!