Break Up Fallow Ground

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

I played a lot of baseball growing up. Most of my afternoons in middle and high school were consumed with being out on that diamond. Even if it just meant throwing the ball back and forth with a friend, I wanted to be there. To this day, there are not many places on this earth that bring more peace and nostalgia than a field of red clay and grass.

Whenever a rainy day was followed by a sunny day (which often happened on the same day in the Bahamas), the clay would clam together and become almost like one giant red rock. Playing baseball on that just simply won't do; it has to be broken up. So we had a giant, steel rake-like device that we would attach to the back of a golf cart that would pull it around the field to break it up.

That's the image that comes to mind when I hear God say through the prophet Hosea, "Break up your fallow ground." It's the image of stubborn, hardened clay that needs to be stirred and broken in order to be used.

That is often exactly what we need in our relationship with Jesus. We need to break away from the monotony and seek His face. Our hearts often have to be stirred and broken in order for us to be prepared for new life and purpose. We must not settle for hearts that are cold and hardened. Whenever we find ourselves going through the motions and not drawing closer to the Lord, we must actively pursue ways to allow Him to break up our fallow ground.

Maybe this means fasting from food, technology, parties, watching the news, etc. Whatever is preventing us from continually seeking His face must go! If we settled for a rock hard baseball infield, players usually ended up slipping, falling and getting bruised from ground balls jumping at them. In the same way, if we settle for cold, hard hearts, we will end up broke, busted and disgusted.

I probably don't need to point out to you what in your life is causing your heart to be fallow ground. As a matter of fact, if you're anything like me, you've already come up with at least 5 excuses why that thing on your mind isn't hindering your walk with Christ. But if you desire to move from fallow ground to fertile ground, you must begin by removing those things from your life at least for a short time and be willing to seek the Lord.

Pour over His Word, not to tell others what you've learned, but to be in the Presence of the Risen Christ and allow His truth to soak in your fertile heart, bringing about life change. Stay on your knees until they bleed if you must. Sing until your voice gives way to surrender. Surround yourself with brothers and sisters who will ensure you are continuing on the narrow road that leads to life. Put to death (Colossians 3:5) the things that harden your heart and Put on (Colossians 3:12) the things that break up your fallow ground. Sow Righteousness. Reap Steadfast Love. That will preach.

If you are not hungering and thirsting for righteousness (Matthew 5:6), then you have fallow ground. If the Lord Himself raining righteousness and steadfast love on your soul sounds like something you want to experience, do whatever is takes. Jesus said if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out (Matthew 18:9). Surely, you can at least tear away from Facebook if that's the source of your complacency.

If we truly have been "abundantly pardoned" (Isaiah 55:7), then we have actually been set free to break up our fallow ground and seek the Lord of Hosts. We have been given the keys to the golf cart to pull around the ground of our hearts to break away everything that is not of Jesus. And the harvest that we will reap far surpasses the best of baseball games or the greatest of any satisfaction this world could ever hope to offer.

I write these words being currently in a season of needing to hear them myself. I plan on reading back through this post and praying these words. I will probably enter this post into my journal because God has been actively pursuing my heart as always and it seems I am in need of much fallow ground to be broken. Sure, it's tough and requires sacrifice, but the payoff will be abundantly more than we could ever ask or think.