“I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’”

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭10:12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This verse captivated my imagination today. Just that picture the words bring to mind made me pause. As I meditated on what G-d might be trying to speak yo me about the verse, it dawned on me that I never saw my grandparents or my great uncle plow when the ground was wet – they always plowed when the land was dry. Curious, I headed to google and learned that you should only plow when the land is dry and that plowing enlarges the moisture reservoir of the land. In other words, plowing is a good thing!

But have you SEEN the tools that break up the soil? Sharp. Hard. Heavy. If dirt had feelings, plowing would hurt.  Plowing is hard work. Plowing is painful work. Plowing is messy work. 

Heart work is hard work too. It’s messy. It’s painful. It’s miserable. But – it’s necessary in order to enlarge the reservoir of our lives. If I say I want more of Him, it will require the work of the plow to uproot things that do not belong and to uncover hidden stones buried long ago. No matter how deep the plow must go, I want more of Him and less of me. 

Father – thank You for Your mercy and for Your Word. I know there is work to be done in my heart. I want to welcome the work but I am scared. I trust Your hand at the plow and want everything You have for me. Give me grace to receive it. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen. 

Daily Reading: Hosea 8-14

July 21, 2022