Revelations 2:5
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Hosea 10:12
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
It is time to “break up my fallow ground” and repent. I have become comfortable and lazy in my physical and spiritual life. I have allowed weeds to grow among the Christian qualities and characteristics God has grown in my life. In some cases the weeds continuously grab hold of these godly roots and block out or strangle the quality from ever being productive – a stronghold. I can sow good seeds all day long, but if I don’t actively and daily control the weeds and pests in my spiritual life than I will not reap a harvest of good spiritual fruit.
Spiritual weed and pest control is a learned art. How can I “watch for” and “remove” these pesky weeds? Weeds of laziness, of selfishness, of pride, of wasteful spending, of gluttony, of anger, of shifting the blame – “It’s not my fault,” of lying, cheating, stealing, bitterness, and the list goes on. As in real gardening, learning to control and remove weeds is a continual learning and doing process. During the different seasons, winter, summer, spring, and fall, different techniques for removing and controlling weeds are done. Read, study, and learn God’s word on how to battle, and daily remove these weeds and strongholds in your life. When is the helmet of salvation used? When is the breast plate of righteousness used? When is the girding of the truth used? When do I use my feet shed with the gospel of peace? When and how do I use the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit?
It is time to break up my fallow ground, stir up the fertile righteous soil in my life, and pull out the weeds from within the garden of my life. Does this mean my spiritual harvest is gone? I don’t have any good qualities or characteristics to draw on to keep me sustained in my spiritual walk? No, it doesn’t. You have a storehouse of spiritual fruit that you have reaped, and you have the daily manna in God’s word that will sustain you during this time of repentance and re-growth of new spiritual fruit in your life.
This sounds like a season of repentance; a time where seeds of righteousness are not planted but allowing the spiritual soil, my heart, an opportunity to rest from the grips of wretchedness. A time of continuously turning over the soil, molding and tilling my heart, and preparing it for new spiritual growth and fruit.
In retrospect, this same process has been done before in my life, but I was not actively engaged. The Holy Spirit prepared my heart, my spiritual soil, for me. I am no longer a spiritual baby or child. The weeds are obviously not pretty flowers anymore. I no longer see the beauty in all things, but I know the good from the bad.
O precious Father, I am on my knees in this garden of my life. I have allowed your Spirit to till my spiritual soil in preparation for this moment. As I look around and see the weeds that remain, I am broken at the wretched state I have been so content to live in. O Father, give me strength to sustain me during this season in my life; this season of repenting and removing the weeds and wretchedness that has grown in me. Lord, use these tears and pain to fertilize Your next crop of spiritual fruit intended for me and others. O Father, Your servant, Your child, longs to please you. May you receive the praise and glory for all that is done. Selah.
