It Is Time

Daily Reading: Hosea 10

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. (Hosea 10.12, NIV)

Devotional Thought: Growing up in northwestern Ohio, I delighted in seeing the corn and soybeans after a nice summer shower.  The corn stood straighter, and the soybeans were a darker green!  Those summer rains rejuvenated the crops. 

There are times in our lives when we need to be rejuvenated in the righteousness of the Lord.  Our souls begin to dry out and the joy of the Lord wanes.  If you feel yourself getting into a mid-summer period of dryness, it is time to do what Hosea suggested:

·       Sow for yourselves righteousness.  When we really desire God’s righteousness to be restored in our lives, then we must begin to act in righteousness.  We can't work up righteousness, but we open the way for his righteousness to be worked in us. 

·       Reap the fruit of unfailing love.  The prophet reminds us that all we need to do is trust in the Lord’s unfailing love.  In those periods of dryness, rest in his faithfulness.  Consciously receive God’s blessing.  Believe in his promises.  “In three days” he will restore you.

·       Break up your unplowed ground.  Perhaps we need to do something different, or return to something we used to do, but have neglected.  Jesus said to the churches in Revelation to “remember” and “repent.”  If you seek a revival in your life or in your church, then look for the “unplowed” areas of spiritual growth.

·       Seek the Lord.  Our lives are filled up with so much “stuff.”  It is hard to seek the Lord because we are so distracted by other things.  They come between us and the sunshine of his love.  The Lord has said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart.”

Prayer: Thank you for your unfailing love, O Lord.  Help me to sow righteousness, break up my unplowed ground, and seek you until you come and shower me with that unfailing love!  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 84.1-7

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion."