It is no secret that I call Louisiana home and draw great strength and comfort from my roots. Those roots have allowed me days of sunshine, showed me the value of hard work, and sheltered me from the storms while teaching me how to survive them.
Just as growing up country in a deeply Southern town has taught me many lessons, so too, have I learned lessons that stretch me and cause me to grow through experiences as well as pain in the life I live based on the foundational relationship I have with Father God.
Through the years, I have noticed that God speaks to each of us based upon our physical roots so that we can easily understand what He is saying to us. In my case, He clearly speaks "country girl" to me.
As I was sitting in the quiet this morning reveling in the moment of solitude, He came to me calling me to go deeper with Him. To pursue the deep things.
Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, til He comes and rains righteousness on you.
To sow means to be intentional. To work toward producing or growing something. In country terms... I am going to sweat a massive amount as I work to break up the ground and get it ready to receive the seeds I will plant. It means making sure the soil has the right nutrients to grow what I am planting. It means the soil is loose and no longer hard and compacted. When all this is done and ready, then I can plant the seed. Now the easy part is done and the real work begins.
Once the seed is planted it must be nurtured and tended daily. Always making sure that there is the right amount of rain, sun, and nutrition so that the seed is able to grow and thrive. In addition, there is hours of back breaking work as you keep weeds away so that nothing comes to choke out the life of what was planted. As if that isn't enough along comes pests, fungus and an abundance of other things to cause the plant to be unhealthy.
In this verse in Hosea God is reminding me to work towards obedience to the revealed word of God. Sounds pretty simple but then so does planting tomatoes. If you have ever had a garden, you know the truth of these words. It is work. Pure and simple. Without the work there is absolutely no way to enjoy the reward.
So it is as I allow God to bring me to full obedience in Him. This can only, and I do mean ONLY be accomplished through daily pouring His word into my heart. Daily hitting my knees in conversation with him. Notice I did not say in talking to Him but used the word conversation instead. This means I will choose to spend more time listening than I will talking because I can guarantee that what He has to say is what I desperately need to hear.
As I grow better at listening to His instruction, He is faithful to teach me. In order for me to learn I must first be willing. Then when I am willing I must add to that obedience. It takes both in equal abundance in order for me to be in a position to hear the words that the Father places deep within my soul to take root so that I might be rooted and grounded in Him and not in self.
As I listen to His instruction then I will begin to reap mercy. And not in the way that I first thought I would. Being the inherently selfish being that we as humans are, naturally I had thought of all the ways that mercy would be brought to me.
But what if? What if mercy was given to me so that I might share it in ABUNDANCE with those around me? What if when mean shows up it is rewarded with kindness? What if when hate shows up it encounters genuine love? What if?
So this morning as I am preparing the soil, planting the seed, and tending the plant, may I remember how God loved and how His mercies are new every morning....
Faith with boots is a lifestyle not a momentary thing....
love you all....
me
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