Righteous

by Rocky Fleming

Day Three

Scripture:  Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12 NASB)

Thought:  We have already covered the need for the “shield of righteousness.”  The shield is actually our intimate, healthy relationship with Christ.  It is only through Jesus that we are made righteous.  Therefore, it is in this place that we are declared righteous, and to enjoy righteousness.  But there is more.  He wants to rain down more righteousness on us. However, as stated in this scripture we have work to do.  We have to break up and sow.  What does this mean? We have already established that it is the righteous person ” who will never be moved.”  This man or woman will stand when the storms of life come.  Their boat will not sink.  It is the confidence in this that allows something that all other solutions for our problems cannot give us, which is a resting trust in Sovereign God’s good plan for our life.  We see in the passage above that we must “sow with a view to righteousness.”  

What does it mean to sow like this?  To answer this I think we must visualize a farmer sowing seeds.  Would he sow grass seeds with wheat seed, or barley with corn, or seeds of weeds in anything he would want to harvest as food?  No, he would sow the type of seed he would want to harvest, and he would make a plan for the type of harvest he would have with that crop.  He would have a forward-looking view for the crop that would grow because of his labors.  It is in a similar manner that we have a “view” for the fruit of righteousness.  In other words, what we do now with our sowing blesses us later.  It takes time for our sowing to produce a harvest but it will come, especially when we face those deep fears I mentioned.  The harvest will be a crop of peace while in our adversity.

Application:  So, how are you doing with your sowing?  Many Christians, if not most, wait until things seem almost hopeless before they sow seeds that reap righteousness.  When they do this they do not know how to respond when sudden news comes upon them.  They panic.  They are shocked.  They are driven to hopelessness.  This is not where God wants His children to remain.  Therefore to get to an eventual peace, they will have a lot of catch-up to find the resting place that could have been with them when they are greeted with bad news.  I believe the passage above is speaking to this very thing.  

What we get later in the form of resting peace in the midst of adversity, must be planted way ahead of those adverse times.  With this in mind, why not begin sowing those seeds right now?How do you sow?  Start by rooting out the weeds in your life that choke out God’s fruit in your life (see Matthew 13:22).  Then nurture the soil by moving your life to a place where you are receptive to the seed of God’s word.  This will lead to the best soil as you enter an abiding relationship with Christ (see Matthew 13:23).  You will be sowing with a view for righteousness, and it will eventually come raining down on you.  Ask God to help you with this process by prayer, and listen to what He may speak to your heart.

Response:  When God reveals something to us, we must make it our highest priority to respond to His direction … immediately.  If we do not, our response will fade like yesterday’s news and we will miss something good. Don’t lose any opportunity that He gives you to point you in the right direction. Respond.