|
July
14, 2006
"Fruits of Restoration"
Lysa TerKeurst
President of Proverbs 31 Ministries, Author, Speaker
|
 |
Key
Verse:
Hosea 10:12, "Sow for yourselves righteousness, 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 righteousness on you." (NIV)
Devotion:
Believe it or not, I have found this verse to be the key to unlocking the secret to living the life God has given you…and loving it whether you are rejoicing in the sunny good times or feeling tossed and turned in a violent storm. "Why," do you ask? Well, do you remember the story of the uncompromising neighbor who barricaded our driveway in an effort to get a small portion of her property back (which we mistakenly built a road on thinking it was ours; see yesterday's daily devotion "Roadblocks of Life")? The rest of the story goes something like this:
We had to have the pond drained down and it broke our hearts to see it get to such a sad state. We also had to have our driveway moved which was very expensive as well. Did God change our circumstances even though we begged him to? No. Did my heavenly prompting to take my fence-building adversary a glass of water give her a change of heart about the way she was treating us? No.
Unfortunately, the situation never changed. But after walking through the difficulty and anger of that trial, God brought about one of the most beautiful restorations I have ever seen. Not only did He provide every penny we needed to move the driveway (in the most surprising ways, might I add), but now you can't even see evidences of the great driveway escapade. The barren ground sprouted grass again and the driveway sits securely on our own land now. But the most amazing restoration occurred with our pond.
It had taken years to fill our pond so we assumed it would take years to refill it after having it drained. But God had a different plan. Do you remember what He asked me to give my neighbor? One cup of water. Do you know what God gave me back? He brought a rainstorm right over our pond that caused the heaviest downpour I'd ever seen and refilled that pond in one day! My friends, those were not just raindrops that fell that day. To me, it was God lavishing His love all around me and reminding me, He is in absolute control. From one required cup of water to the blessings of millions of gallons.
Even during those moments of intense hardships with others, give your heart permission to grown in the ground of making right choices that honor God every step of the way. Making those right choices leads to living righteously, and living righteously leads to Holiness. And do you know what Holiness means? It means that we dwell in the presence of God. And in the presence of God, there is freedom and peace even in the midst of tough circumstances. And in time, He will restore what has been taken from you in His perfect way.
My
Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, may we never be afraid to step out in faith and in right living, even when it is uncomfortable. Help us to realize that in doing these things we have opportunities to plant seeds for You and bring You glory. We desire this to be our first priority as Christians, and believe that you will honor our obedience even though we may not see it at the time. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Application
Steps:
Re-read Hosea 10:12 and consider some of the following thoughts on each part of the verse:
1) "Sow for yourselves righteousness" - Make right choices that honor God even when you don't feel like it.
2) "Reap the fruit of unfailing love" - Love for the lovely and unlovely alike.
3) "Break up your unplowed ground" - Whether they be blockades in your driveway or blockades in your heart.
4) "For it's time to seek the Lord" - Embrace Him with all your heart.
5) "Until He comes" - And He most certainly will.
6) "And showers righteousness on you" - More than you can ever hope or imagine!
Going Deeper
(click here to continue
reading...)
Additional Resources (click here to
continue reading...)
Printable Version (click here
for
.pdf format...)
|
|
|
|
|
