Months ago, our church staff was in a time of prayer. I was on staff at the time (I have since retired), and the Lord spoke this scripture to my heart. “Break up your fallow ground”. I had heard the passage quoted many times, and I turned in my Bible to find it.

“Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”    Hosea 10:12

I read it to myself repeatedly, and the Holy Spirit prompted my heart to research what ‘fallow” meant. I had always understood that passage as somewhat negative.

But I learned that although ‘fallow’ does mean unproductive, it also means to render an area fallow so that it can rest and be restored. Biblically, it is land that is plowed but left unseeded to rest and regain fertility. Isn’t that a beautiful picture of God’s heart?!

That day, it was as if God was telling me, “I have left you fallow for a time to rest and regain fertility, and now it’s time to break up that ground again so that I can plant something new in your life. In the case of this passage, “till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”

His truth exploded in me because I had thought that it was by some fault of my own that I was fallow and unproductive, but in reality, it was God Who had orchestrated this time for rest and to regain fertility; something my heart was desirous of, but I felt I had failed because I wasn’t as fruitful as I thought I should be.

Photo by Chad Stembridge on Unsplash

Photo by Danil Зakhvatkin on Unsplash‘

Jesus often used parables about harvest, sowing, and reaping, and this is another example where God compares the condition of our hearts to a field of soil. In this case, fallow ground.

I believe He’s preparing your ground to plant something new and wonderful in you!
Instead of seeing your ground lying fallow as something negative, something you caused because of your failures or a punishment from God (come on, you know you have…), why not see it for what it is: a time of rest and preparation for what’s to come.

HALLELUJAH!

Let this truth God showed me, change your perspective from one of condemnation for fallowness, to something God desired and even planned for a time to make you even more fruitful!

Let Christ Be Glorified in All!
Crisie