READY FOR HARVEST

Read Hosea Chapters 9-10

Key Verse – Hosea 10:12
“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord.”

When I was a child, my parents planted a large garden every year. In the garden, there was a huge variety of things. Corn, onions, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, and much more. I loved that garden. I loved helping collect the different vegetables into large bushel baskets. I remember the sense of accomplishment I felt while carrying that basket down the hill and into the kitchen. There my mother would wash and prepare the large assortment. Some would be set aside for immediate use, some would be canned, and some would be given away. It was fun, I had a blast.

Months earlier, after the winter thaw had come, I was not so enthusiastic about helping in the garden. You see, at that time there wasn’t really a garden. There was just a large spot of hard, barren ground. After a winter in which the ground had frozen and thawed dozens of times, that “garden” sure seemed dead. My father would say, “Come on, time to till the garden”. I hated that phrase. Why? Preparing a garden for planting was hard work. Digging, raking, and pulling weeds are not fun. Yet, it was necessary if the garden was to produce the intended harvest. Once that work was completed, seeds could go in the ground and the anticipation of reaping the rewards of that labor could begin.

The very same principle can be applied to our lives. Surely there are many things that we all want from God. Dreams and desires that we are longing to see fulfilled. It is true, however, that there is a prerequisite to seeing these dreams come to pass. We must seek God for them. In Matthew 7:7, we are given the proper order for receiving from God, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” See, in each case, there is a necessary action on our part before the reaping begins.

Hosea 10:12 gives us even another prerequisite to seeking God. Our hearts must be prepared to seek Him. I know there have been many times in my life that I have come to God with a heart that wasn’t ready to receive. I wanted something so badly but pride, anger, and hurt(to name a few) had hardened my heart to a place that God would not bring forth fruit in that area of my life. But I needed to learn that if I want God to bring forth greatness in me, then I must be willing to lay my life, and my heart, down to be turned inside out and upside down. The secret things that are in my heart must be dug out and my heart must become soft and humble before the Lord. If I try to produce a life of great harvest with a heart untouched by God, I will fail every time.

God desires great things from you and me. When He looks upon us, He sees the potential to bring forth blessings bountifully. Don’t be afraid to allow God to plow up the ground of your heart. It may hurt a little. But only then, can we seek Him sincerely and then reap the harvest.