Break Up Your Fallow Ground

In the fourth chapter of Jeremiah, God says, "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns." The idea of plowing the ground before planting it is very natural; but when we consider the process, it can seem like a very violent act to the earth that we are preparing. We tear open the surface with the plowshare or pulverize the ground with a rototiller, churning and softening the dirt in order to create a rich seedbed in which the new plants will thrive and produce crops.

Fallow ground is that which has not been planted for a time, but has been left to grow over with weeds. Being unplanted, it is therefore unfruitful and unproductive. It becomes a tangle of useless vines and thorns. We, as individuals, often have areas of our lives that we have left "fallow." These are areas that are unfruitful and unproductive for the Lord. We all know that the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 is, "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, (and) temperance." We have areas where we do not display these attributes, however, and may, instead, allow the works of the flesh to grow. The trouble is: we need to be plowed! We need to yield these areas to God and let him "pulverize" the ground of our hearts so that He can then sow the good seed of the Word of God in us. We do reap what we are sowing in our hearts.

When I was a young Christian, I prided myself in my patience. I would even boast to others how patient a person I felt I was. As the Lord allowed some trying times to come my way, I soon realized that I was not very patient at all when it really mattered. My heart was broken when I realized some of the ugly things that could come out of me under pressure. As a result of this "plowing," the Lord was able to plant His good Word in this area in my life. From that time, I no longer boasted of "my" patience, but trusted in the strength of His.

It is a great paradox to observe Christians who exhibit Christ in some areas of their lives, but can be cruel, dishonest, proud, and unloving in others. The church is ever being judged by unbelievers because of the incongruity that they witness in its members. Unfortunately, it is these incongruities that speak louder than our goodness. This is why it was such an urgent appeal for the Israelites to "break up their fallow ground." God does not want any area of our life to be unfruitful.

The other issue that God addresses in Jeremiah is sowing among thorns. A good garden always requires tilling. Which of us would go out to our garden plot in the Spring and just broadcast seeds on top of the ground among the weeds and expect a good crop to emerge? Without breaking and preparing the ground, we are simply wasting our time and precious seed. Most of the seed will likely not germinate, and what does will not survive competing with the thorns and other weeds which will steal the water and nutrients from them. As Jesus explains in Matthew 13:22, "He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."

A farmer friend of mine once explained to me the term "hardpan," and it got me to thinking about the spiritual application of this condition. The hardpan is a dense layer of soil, usually somewhere between 6 to 25 inches below the surface, that restricts root growth and the movement of moisture, air, and beneficial organisms through the soil. It is caused naturally by glacial action or heavy rains; but, most generally, it occurs as a result of constant shallow plowing with heavy equipment. The best way to remedy this condition is to plow deeply with a chisel plow to break up this dense layer of earth allowing plant roots to reach down deeply for water and nutrients, protecting them during draughts.

There are areas of our life where we have built up resentments, bitterness, and emotional wounds, creating a barrier, or "hardpan," that causes us to be partly unfruitful in the Lord. Every time the Lord desires to plow a little deeper in these areas, we resist and retreat from Him, not wanting to let Him deal with our hurts and heal them. This condition leaves some Christians very shallow, and unable to grow spiritually beyond where they are. They may continue for years, never allowing Christ access to the secret places of their heart. As such, they become lukewarm in their faith. Jesus, however, calls to them with these words that we find in Revelations 3, " Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Repentance is the very best way to break up our fallow ground. It is in this way that we prepare our hearts to receive the Word of life, and become fruitful for the Lord. "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." (Revelations 3:19) Be very sure that we can trust the Lord with our hearts and our lives. He only wants to save us and heal us so that we may become whole.

" 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." - Hosea 10:9-12

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified." - Isaiah 61:1-3