“Sow righteousness for yourselves, 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 his righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12

Everyone’s been talking about it for a couple months at least! “When is it going to rain? It is SOOO DRY! We REALLY NEED IT!” Well last night, at my house, we finally got it! The night before we got teased when a slight tinkling shower breezed by. But last night! BOOM! The sight, sound and smell of the freshly falling rain had been missed. The pool that had dropped 8” rose 1”. A welcome sight!

This morning, as I looked at the yard, the color had changed overnight! Drab, dead brown turned to bright, lush green as thirsty grass got a drink of life giving blessing. As the rain fell, it was hard to see out the window clearly, as semi-darkness and raindrops, beating against the window, blocked the sight of the promise of what was coming. But sunrise brought clarity and hope. Thank You Lord!

It is a blessing to be here… at 68! I have gone through those years of having to make a living working out in the hot Florida sun to support a family. It was HARD! I think and pray for those who find themselves there now… sweating and struggling to ‘make it.’ It was in THOSE times that I heard God’s call to ‘Sow righteousness, break up unplowed ground and seek the LORD ‘for myself!’ I did.

But living backwards doesn’t work. Looking back at the way things were doesn’t help to get me where I need to go. God promises showers of righteousness and blessing AFTER the seasons of suffering, difficulty and preparation. It’s just the way His system works. He offers us the blessing at the END! He HAS to. The reward of Faith can only come after faith has had it’s walk. With difficulty.

Soon enough, I know tongues will complain again. As hurricane season approaches, the wagging of the tongue will be, “When will it STOP!” From both views we see that this earth and the life we live is NOT how it was intended to be. Someday there WILL be perfection. THAT will be Heaven. Until then, He calls me to sow, plow, dig and sweat, looking forward to His future Reign of Righteousness!

Reading His Word, singing and praising are HIS tools to get us through. Left to ourselves, we usually find artificial substitutes, then complain and grumble! Sooo… how does YOUR field look? How do YOU see it?