God has to use simple illustrations to teach me things. Some of my biggest life lessons have come from trees or rocks or dirt. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture, with specializations in Plant and Soil Science, Turfgrass Management, and Landscape Horticulture (it’s a mouth-full, I know). I’ve worked in the Green Industry for close to 10 years. Then, almost seven years ago, I married a dairy/crop farmer. Add that experience to my formal education, and I am an agricultural guru. So often the Holy Spirit can take something as small as a grain of sand, and speak monumental Truth into my heart. This week has been one of those experiences.
I decided to join a Bible Study group last week. As with any Bible Study, the first week can be a little bland because the material is basically an introduction to the “real” study. I assumed this study would be no different; that I would fly through the 5 lessons and return next week, unchanged, waiting for the good stuff.
Not what happened.
The leader of the Study handed out a memory verse for the week (at which I subtly rolled my eyes. C’mon, are we in Sunday School?). I took the small card and stuck it in my Bible. Whatever. Then, I got home, and actually read the verse. Uh oh. A verse with a farming reference. I knew what was about to happen, so I prepared myself to be spiritually challenged by this verse over the next few days:
Break up the hard ground of your hearts, for it is time to seek the LORD, that He may come and shower righteousness upon you. Hosea 10:12b
I hope to not bore you with a lot of farming mumbo-jumbo. But this half-verse has completely rearranged my heart this week. You see, while I was in college, I took a Master’s Level Course called Sustainable Agronomic Agriculture. Basically, it was about how the world’s food crops can be grown year after year without depleting the soil volume, or the soil quality. I know that sounds boring to 99% of the population. But this week God began to open my eyes to some of the things we have been taught by this world, and how those things conflict with His standards, His calling, and His way of life.
Plow: (verb) to turn up the earth before sowing. This is what farmers have done for thousands of years every spring. You turn up the earth, you plant seed, you wait for rain, you let the harvest grow, you reap what you planted. But in recent years, farmers have adopted a practice called “No-Till Farming”. Instead of plowing, you plant the seed into the hard earth. Why? Because the soil doesn’t erode, there are fewer weeds, and you don’t have to fertilize as much. In No-Till Farming, the farmer’s crop depends on the inherent quality of the soil in which the seed is planted. Professors and agronomists and environmentalists are traveling around the nation pleading with farmers to adopt this practice.
But that’s not the practice that God has called us to adopt. And this week, He told me why. There are some physical characteristics of a plowed field that God wants us to possess spiritually. A plowed field requires more water. Jesus calls Himself the Living Water (John 4:14). When we intentionally overturn the soil of our hearts, we are prone to drought. We have to continually choose to trust Him to rain his Water on us. A plowed field needs more fertilizer. When a field is plowed, it allows nutrients to be leached out of it. So is the same with our hearts. When we humble ourselves to His will and His leading, it can sometimes be draining. But God promises that He will sustain us and carry us as long as we live (Isaiah 46:4). A plowed field is prone to more weeds. When we allow our hearts to be broken before God, it also leaves us vulnerable to things of this world. We have to make a conscious effort to take stock of what we are allowing to grow in our hearts, and tend to the crop accordingly. If it’s not honoring to Him, get it out of your field! (Matthew 15:13) Overall, when we choose to “plow the hard ground of our hearts,” we are choosing to humble ourselves and become dependent upon God, and He always honors a heart that’s dependent on Him. (Psalms 149:4)
And there are also some things we can learn about the field that isn’t plowed, the No-Till technique. In no-till farming, the soil needs less water, less fertilizer, and less weed control because it relies completely on the nutrients that are found within itself. In essence, this is how the world tells us how we should live. Rely on ourself, look out for number one, you are your only ally. But when we rely on our own resources, we are telling God that we don’t need Him, the He is unnecessary. But in reality, he holds our lives and our breath in His hand. (Job 12:10) In no-till farming, the soil is more prone to disease. Because the soil is compacted, there is less room for air to circulate between soil particles, creating a perfect environment for disease, particularly fungus. If we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to breathe Life in us, we are going to become stagnant and diseased. When we choose to let the soil of our hearts become unproductive, we are allowing Satan access to snatch up whatever God tries to plant. (Mark 4:15)
This is what I’ve learned this week: to allow my heart to become ripped open. It’s not necessarily a great feeling, but it puts me in a position where I am required to rely on my Maker, my Creator, my Sustainer. Who else would I rather be tending my field, my heart?
