Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

We’ve probably all heard the expression, “You’ll reap what you sow.” In other words, if we sow to please our sinful desires, we will reap destruction and miss out on the relationship God wants with us; if we sow to please the Holy Spirit who lives inside us, we will reap joy and blessings from our Father.

I think Hosea offers a good picture of sowing to please sinful desires and the consequences that result. Hosea 4:1-3 says, “Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.”

I like Hosea 10:12 because it provides the Israelites with a solution: “Break up your fallow ground.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines fallow as “cultivated land that is allowed to lie idle during the growing season.” In other words, fallow ground is a field that has been sown with crops in the past and has yielded fruit, but has now been left unworked for a time.

It’s a good reminder to me that just because we’ve been fruitful in the past or had victory over a certain area of sin doesn’t mean we’re impervious to falling idle or even taking steps backward. That’s why it’s critical for us to continually examine our hearts, sow righteousness, and seek the Lord. Because if we do, we will reap steadfast love and be rained upon by God’s righteousness.

1 Thessalonians 5:6
So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

Ephesians 5:15-16
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.