Breaking Up The Hard Ground
Hosea 10:12 (NLT)
12 . . . ‘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.’
Jeremiah 4:3-4 (NLT)
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.
Before any farmer expects a harvest, he must first prepare the soil. The prophet Hosea calls us to "plow up the hard ground" of our hearts. Like soil that has been compacted by seasons of neglect, our hearts can become hardened by disappointment, hurt, or spiritual complacency. God doesn't want surface-level faith; He desires deep transformation. Today, ask yourself: What has made my heart hard toward God or others? Unforgiveness? Disappointment? Pride? The good news is that God Himself is the farmer willing to break up that hard ground. Surrender those hardened places to Him. Pray: "Lord, break what's hard in me. I open the gate of my heart to Your transforming work."
12 . . . ‘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.’
Jeremiah 4:3-4 (NLT)
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.
Before any farmer expects a harvest, he must first prepare the soil. The prophet Hosea calls us to "plow up the hard ground" of our hearts. Like soil that has been compacted by seasons of neglect, our hearts can become hardened by disappointment, hurt, or spiritual complacency. God doesn't want surface-level faith; He desires deep transformation. Today, ask yourself: What has made my heart hard toward God or others? Unforgiveness? Disappointment? Pride? The good news is that God Himself is the farmer willing to break up that hard ground. Surrender those hardened places to Him. Pray: "Lord, break what's hard in me. I open the gate of my heart to Your transforming work."
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