Bring the Rain
As the winter months come to a close and the sun thaws the frosted ground, farmers, both professional and hobbyists, get ready for the growing season to begin. All growing seasons start similarly. First, come the rains. Because of the time of year and the climate just after winter, the rains tend to be longer lasting, less volatile, good soaking rains. These rains are not deluges, rather they are the type of rains that penetrate the soil releasing large reserves of water into the underground water table. The land will bring forth fruit for the whole growing season from the reserves left by these soak rains.
The rain is coming. The ground of the believer’s heart must be prepared to receive it. All the rocks of the flesh must be removed so that a full harvest of righteousness can be produced.
Preparation for these rains is vital and timeliness in those preparations is equally essential. If the farmer is late and misses the rains, the hard summer sun will beat down the young plants and sap their life. If planting goes too early, there is a risk that winter will raise its cold, fierce head late in the season and destroy the seedlings with a heavy coat of frost. Prepare the ground on time and the plants have the best opportunity to produce bountiful harvests.
This physical farming truth applies to the spiritual as well. The prophet Hosea discusses the principle of preparation in the tenth chapter of his book. In verse twelve, the prophet admonishes the reader to “break up your unplowed ground” and “sow righteousness” in preparation for God sending “showers” of “his righteousness.” Spiritual action must be taken to prepare our hearts to receive God’s righteous showers so that fruits of “unfailing love” may be reaped in good season!
How does a believer make such spiritual preparations? What must we do to break up our unplowed ground and sow the seeds of righteousness? First, let’s understand where God is sending His rain. This is in our souls and spirits. The rain of God’s righteousness does no good when poured out on our physical being. Righteousness is of the heart and that is exactly where God sends the rain. While righteousness may lead to righteous acts in the physical world, the physical world and that part of human existence called “the flesh” cannot retain righteousness. The flesh must die in the presence of God because it is imperfect and cannot be made perfect. It is decaying and dying. But the spirit is of God and from God, it can be made perfect through the righteousness provided in Christ Jesus.
So God rains down His righteousness on our hearts, souls, and spirits, and we must prepare our hearts to receive this rain. Although the flesh cannot partake in the righteousness being rained down from God, it does have a significant influence on our hearts, and therefore, our ability to receive the righteous rains. How can this be? Let’s go back to our farming analogy. Consider the flesh like rocks and your heart as a field. When rain comes down from the sky it hits the rocks and the field. The rocks have no use for the rain. They cannot be made supple and cannot bring forth life. The rain hits the rocks and bounces off. However, the soil of the field can receive the rain. The rain soaks into the field and life grows out of the field. So the more rocks in the field, the less life that can come out of it.
The Bible even talks about a hardened heart when referring to individuals who rebel, turning their back on God. Just as a stony field is unable to receive physical rain, a hardened heart is unable to receive the Lord’s righteous rain. This is why we need to break up the ground, get rid of the rocks, and prepare the soil to receive God’s righteousness. What are some things we can do to make such preparations? Part of breaking up hard ground is using the Word of God to speak His promises into your own heart. Promises like:
“The Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you or forsake you.”
God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus.
Through Jesus, our God has provided His salvation to us if only we will believe and confess.
The truths of God will break up hardened hearts and sow those seeds of righteousness that will grow into a harvest after receiving God’s rain.
Prayer is another way that we can prepare our hearts for God’s showers of righteousness. When we pray, God hears us. When we pray, God moves and causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. We know that through supplication to our loving Heavenly Father, His peace is made available to us - a peace that passes all understanding. It is God’s peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and love that causes our hearts to soften and be ready for the rain of the Spirit of God.
Another preparative step is removing those stones from your field. The rocks have to go so that the hard ground can be broken up and the rain may be received. All farmers know that the rocks must be removed from the field before the plow can be used to break up the ground. In the spirit, the removal of the rocks is equivalent to getting the world out of our lives. Removing the influences of the flesh on our hearts. Putting away those fleshly habits that lead us astray, interfere with our spiritual connection to God, and keep us from fully infusing our lives in His power. We must, through discipline, willingly submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit, asking Him for the willpower to pick up every stone of the flesh and throw it from the field of our hearts. The stones may include: popular media, the internet, jealousy, gluttony, greed, anger, lustfulness, ingratitude, hatred, laziness, selfishness, and self-pity. There are a lot of types of rocks used to harden the human heart. Whichever is found in the heart must be removed to allow for the rains of God to produce a full harvest of righteousness.
It’s spring. The rain is coming. Let us listen to Hosea and “seek the Lord” as He brings the rains of righteousness. May our heart burst forth with a plentiful harvest to the Glory of our Lord and to His wonderful Name!