A Sign Among Us - Chapter 13 - Fallow Ground

Once a co-worker asked me how I was doing... I was feeling sorry for myself, so I gave him a list of the problems I was focusing on. His response, 'Imagine how hard it would be if you didn't know Jesus?' I went on... 'Yeah, but...' He said, 'What about Job?' Yeah but how long can I go on like this... He said, 'How long was Moses in the desert? He ended with, 'This reminds me of a sermon I heard before about Fallow Ground.' I went to the scriptures and did some research.

'Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.' Jeremiah 4:3b

The expression, 'Break up your fallow ground' could mean, 'Do not sow your seed among thorns,' break off all your evil habits, clear your heart of weeds, in order that they may be prepared for the seed of righteousness. Land was allowed to lie fallow that it might become more fruitful; but when in this condition, it soon became overgrown with thorns and weeds. The cultivator of the soil was careful to 'break up' this fallow ground, to clear the field of weeds, before sowing seed into it.

So says the prophet, 'Break off your evil ways, repent of your sins, cease to do evil, and then the good seed of the word will have room to grow and bear fruit.'

Repentance and a broken heart must preceed renewed spiritual vitality. Why did I look this up? How did you find yourself here? What put us on a search for 'fallow ground?' Let's try an understand what the Lord might have in store for us.

'Sow to yourself 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 10:12

Do you find yourself wandering around looking everywhere for a door. 'Lord, I know you don't want me here, where do you want me to go? Maybe we don't find a door because He wants us where we are. '...break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord...' For how long do we have to go on like this? '... till he come and rain righteousness upon you.' We all need some rain once in a while.

'...if we follow on to know the Lord: ... and he shall come unto us as the rain, ...' Hosea 6:3

I want you to think of the worst problem you are facing at this time. You probably prayed for it last night. It may be a storm that you don't think you are capable of getting through. What if I told you we were going to each write down that problem, we are going to crumple up that piece of paper and throw it away, and tomorrow morning that problem will be gone? It will be out of your life. There is only one catch. As we all discard our problems we also have to take one problem from someone else at random. You know what? We would want our problem back.

I don't think I could handle your storms. I wouldn't wish my storms on you. We all have heard that the Lord doesn't give us more than we can bear. But we forget that when we are in the heat of battle or in the middle of an attack.

'We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.' 'For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.' II Corinthians 4:8-10, 16

How Do You Weather The Storms?

How do you handle your problems? How do you handle the storm you are in? There is one breed of cow that doesn't weather storms very well. We'll call them Beta cows.

When the wind and snow start to blow, they put their back to the wind. It gradually pushes them until they can't go any further. They have often been found dead after the storm passes through, buried in snowdrifts.

Another breed of cow handles storms differently. Think of them as the Alpha cow. When the storm starts to blow rain, sleet or snow these cows gather together, shoulder to shoulder. They turn toward the wind and lower their head. They also, still shoulder to shoulder lean into the wind. They keep nudging forward shoulder to shoulder and survive the storm.

How do you handle storms? Have you ever been in a storm? Are you in a storm? I have heard it said that, 'We are either just coming out of a storm, in a storm or getting ready to enter a storm.' Where are you in relation to those storms?

Often we don't turn to God until AFTER we have tried everything else.

He Made Me Lie Down

Psalm 23:2 states, 'He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:...' I knew I was getting overwhelmed in the past. I can't work here anymore - 'You have to.' I can't teach school two nights a week - 'You have to.' I can't take it anymore - 'Be a man, you have to.' The Lord had to make me lie down ... I tried to get out of my tough situations - or did I? I'd say things to the effect of, 'I would change jobs, but my wife won't let me.' I'd also say, 'I would quit my second job, but we need the money.'

As a result, I lost 30 pounds in 6 months because I didn't make time to eat during the day. Then at night the knot in my stomach told me I wasn't hungry. The Lord had to make me lie down... 'OK, Jeff, you had your chance, now it's my turn...'

The Lord is our Shepherd - we are his sheep. I was his stubborn sheep. Have you ever been stubborn? Are you stubborn? When a shepherd has a stubborn sheep you know what he does? The shepherd breaks the stubborn sheep's leg. Carries him and heals him. When better, the sheep stays by his master's side. Then he is the first sheep in line.

'OK Jeff, I told you what to do. I gave you the open doors. You didn't take them.' In storms and troubles instead of praying for sanctuary, deliverance or strength to endure, I believe we should pray, 'Lord, give me the wisdom to learn what you are trying to teach me.' I believe that humble spirit gets us through the storm quicker. I also think we give the devil too much credit.

'For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.' Hebrews 12:3-8

Do you believe the devil is attacking you or is the Lord getting you ready for something? Something so awesome you can't comprehend it. You might be saying to yourself, 'What possible good could come from this?' I don't know, but you know what, God already knows how it is going to turn out.

Psalm 112:7 says, 'He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.' Are you still thinking, or even saying, 'But you don't understand this problem is big... This storm is a bad one, I can't even talk about it, when I have a prayer request I have to say it as unspoken.'

The Biggest Mathematical Miracle In The World

Moses and his people were in the desert, but what was he doing to do with them? They had to be fed, and fed is what he did, according to the Quartermaster General in the Army. It is reported that Moses would have to have had one thousand five hundred tons of food each day. Do you know that to bring that much food each day, two freight trains, each a mile long, would be required! Besides you must remember, they were in the desert, so they would have to have forewood to use in cooking the food. This would take four thousand tons of wood and just think, they were forty years in transit.

Oh yes! They would have to have water. If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes, it would take eleven million gallons each day, and a freight train with tank cars, one thousand eight hundred miles long, just to bring water!

And then another thing! They had to get across the Red Sea at night. (They did?) Now, if they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be eight hundred miles long and would require thirty-five days and nights to get through. Therefore, there had to be a space in the Red Sea, three miles wide so they could walk five thousand abreast to get over in one night.

But then, there is another problem. Each time they camped at the end of the day, a campground two-thirds the size of the state of Rhode Island was required, or a total of seven hundred and fifty square miles long... think of it! This space just for nightly camping.

Do you think Moses figured all this out before he left Egypt? I think not! You see, Moses believed in God. God took care of these things for him. Now do you think God has any problem taking care of all your needs?

'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Philippians 4:13

Is your problem bigger than that? We will be in heaven soon laughing, '... remember how worried we were?'

Have you ever said, 'Why God...' or 'Why me...?' The reasons of God's dealing with us are often unknown, and can never be fully understood; yet we may be certain that He, in all cases, has reasons, which are perfectly wise and infinitely good. No objection ought to be made, by any one, to anything that God does. Our spontaneous expression should be, 'I trust you Lord.'

So all power is in his hand to deliver when His time comes. Showing that we must patiently abide, and not curiously seek out the cause of God's delay in our affliction. How do we usually react? 'God I did wait, it has been almost a week... well OK, a couple of days; al right, it was this morning.'

'Hast thou knot known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.' Isaiah 40:28-31

Why are we fighting? Are you fighting a battle with an enemy? Are you fighting to keep your head above water during the storm? Are you afraid you will wake up dead in a snowdrift tomorrow?

Carry The Flag

Have you ever seen the movies of the Revolutionary War? When they carry the flag, where do they place it? Right in front. I can imagine that when bullets are whizzing by your head and people on both sides of you are dying, you would want to turn and run the other way. So they placed the flag up front. So they can see and remember what they are fighting for. That man who carried the flag doesn't have a gun. He holds the flag and he charges forward. You could say, 'I wouldn't want that job.' I think that when a wife or mother got word her loved one had died the first words out of her mouth would be, 'How did he die?' The person delivering the terrible news could say with pride, 'He died carrying the flag.'

On those battlefields, if the flag bearer got shot and went down it was the job of the man next to him or closest to him, to drop his rifle, pick up the flag and charge forward.

'He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.' Isaiah 40:29-31

Have you ever seen an eagle fly? Do they flap their wings like a humming bird? No, they ride the thermal currents. Just put out your wings, do what God tells you to do and let Jesus carry you where you need to go.

One other aspect of an eagle. When a predator is chasing them, you know what they do. They fly directly into the sun. The Lord gave them special lenses on their eyes, like sunglasses. The enemy cannot follow them and they escape as they fly toward the sun.

Are you facing the enemy shoulder to shoulder? Or are you letting the drifting snow push you back? Are you flying into the Son? Seeking His sanctuary? Are you proudly carrying the flag and charging forward at full speed?

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