Read: Hosea 10  

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Hosea 10:12 

Fallow ground has not felt the plow for a long time. It is ground that has returned to its natural state. The briars have returned, and the thistles. Even some small willows have reclaimed the wet spots.  This ground has not produced a crop for many years, and has lain dormant and unfruitful. What does the fallow ground have to do with God’s will for our lives?  

In Hosea’s message to Israel, the fallow ground depicts the condition of the hearts of this backslidden nation.  They were unfruitful. This is the condition of many hearts that have not felt the plow of the truth for years. Here is the fallow ground of neglected worship. Here is the fallow ground of bitter attitudes. Here is the fallow ground of pride, sinful thought patterns, and immoral conduct.  Here is the fallow ground of materialism and hypocrisy, and worldly loves. The presence of these behaviors and attitudes hardens the soil of our hearts. When will we stop planting wickedness, and reaping iniquity?  

God calls us to break up this fallow ground. He does not say He will do it; but rather, you do it. Turn your life over to the gospel plow. Break up the hardened soil of neglect. Sink the plow deep into the thorn- and thistle-covered ground and prepare it for the seeding of truth.  

The rain will penetrate the broken soil. The little bugs that enter the soft soil can now continue to keep it soft. Now the sun can warm the soil deeper and cause the rain to soften the seed when it comes.  

As soon as the ground is ready, God calls us to sow in righteousness. This comes into a prepared heart that seeks the Lord. When we act, then God follows by a rain of His righteousness upon us.  

Will we seek the Lord for the remedy? Will we ever break up the hardened soil of our hearts for God’s rain? I would like to suggest that you do it now.  

~James Baer