This recent article from Kim Potter will really help you do just that as she shares:
Read on and find some valuable insight on breaking any fallow ground as the Lord leads. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
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In the book of Exodus, God instructed Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh. He told him to tell him to let God's people go. It was God's plan to free His people from bondage and take them into their Promised Land. It sounds like an awesome assignment, doesn't it?
I Am Sending You But They Won't Listen to You
The next words God spoke to Moses were not so awesome. God informed Moses that although he was sent by God, Pharaoh would not listen to him. I might not know how Moses felt that day, but I know I wouldn't have thought it was such a great assignment hearing that news.
It was not an encouraging word. God was saying, "I am sending you, but they won't listen to you."
How about Abraham when he was told to sacrifice his son—his only son? That was not an encouraging word from God either. I often find it true that true words from God are not always what we want to hear. Sometimes, His words correct us. Sometimes, they compel us to go a way we would not choose for ourselves. However, we must humble ourselves and receive the word if we desire to see God's perfect will in our lives.
I have received words like that. I knew they were from God when I heard them, even though in my flesh I didn't want to hear them. There have even been times when the Lord would have to speak these type of words to me over and again. What was He doing? Tilling up the soil of my heart.
If the Seed Isn't the Problem Then What Is?
I have found that there are certain promises of God that we can easily believe and receive. There are others that we don't receive quite so well. It's the same seed—the Word of God. If the seed is not the problem, what is the problem?
A few years ago, I planted a big garden. My aunt and uncle were helping me. I bought the same seeds they bought from the same exact place. As I placed my seeds in the ground, I imagined rows of potatoes, corn, onions, green beans and peppers.
At the time of harvest, their garden was bursting with huge potatoes, green beans, onions and much more. Mine produced some, but nothing like theirs. We bought the same seed. We planted them the same way. The problem wasn't the seed, what was it? It was the soil.
My aunt and uncle had worked their soil for many years. However, this was the first year my soil had been tilled. It did not take the seed as well and therefore didn't produce as well. Their soil was prepared. It had been repeatedly cultivated. It was ready for seed. It was ready to produce a great harvest.
Aha! The soil must be prepared before it will readily receive the seed. The same principle applies to the soil of our hearts. We must prepare the soil of our hearts to receive the seed of the Word of God. For many of us our hearts are prepared to receive seeds of healing, or seeds of financial breakthrough. However, I find there are some seeds our hearts are not prepared to receive. We see this when we hear of a promise from the Word of God that we simply can't believe.
If the ground of your heart has not been properly tilled to receive the seed, it won't receive it. You won't be able to believe or lay hold of that promise. Jeremiah 4:3 says, "Break up the fallow ground and sow not among thorns." The fallow ground is uncultivated ground. It is also hard ground. If the ground of your heart is hard and uncultivated, it will not receive seed.
Getting Rid of the Weeds and Thorns – Break Up That Fallowed Ground
Perhaps you have trouble believing God for provision. If so, you need to break up the fallow ground of your heart concerning finances. But, before you can do that, you must first get rid of all the weeds and thorns.
The weeds and thorns are those thoughts that are contrary to the Word of God concerning the promise. Weeds and thorns only grow in uncultivated soil. Perhaps your weeds are those of doubt and unbelief. Pull those weeds up and out of your life! You do that by spending time in the Word of God. You break up the fallow ground by meditating on the Word of God concerning the promise.
Perhaps you have trouble believing God for debt freedom. The same principle applies. Get rid of all doubt and unbelief by sowing the Word of God into your heart concerning debt freedom. Do this until you are fully persuaded that you are free from debt because of what Jesus did at the Cross.
Perhaps, the place you have fallow ground is much deeper and more personal than that. Perhaps, the ground of your heart has become hardened by life. Maybe rejection or hurt has hardened the ground of your heart. Perhaps, your heart has become hard because you thought if you didn't harden yourself to it, you would never survive it. Perhaps, you don't want to break up the fallow ground.
Still, God says, "Break up the fallow ground of your heart." You see, we can't allow places of hardness to remain in our hearts. If we do, it will stand between us and what God has for us. We must, absolutely must, keep our hearts pliable and receptive before God. We must humble ourselves before Him and receive whatever He says is His best for our lives—despite our past and despite hurts and disappointments.
We Can Trust Him With Anything
I was thinking, just the other day, how we trust God with our eternal salvation and our very lives and souls yet it seems like we don't trust Him with other things. We fail to trust Him with our finances. We struggle to trust Him with our kids. We don't always trust Him with our hearts. I don't understand why we do this—it just doesn't make sense to me. If we trust Him with our eternal salvation, we can trust Him with anything, don't you think? Even our hearts.
My question is: how's your soil? Does it need tending to in one area or another? If so, allow Jesus to help you break up the fallow ground of your heart. Allow Him to prepare it to receive all He has for you. He can and will do it. Jesus changed the water into wine. Jesus raised the dead. He calmed the seas. He can certainly prepare your heart to receive His seed! Psalm 10:17 says, "Lord, You have heard the cry of the humble; You will prepare their hearts..." (emphasis mine).
I think one key here is humility. As we humble ourselves before God, He will begin to work in our hearts. He will show us what needs to be pulled out and removed. He will show us how to till the ground. He will prepare our hearts. He has promised it. He will do it. Today, allow God to prepare your heart to receive all He has for you. It will be time well invested. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
Kim Potter
A New Thing Ministries
Email: kim@anewthingministries.com
Website: www.anewthingministries.com
Kim Potter is the founder of A New Thing Ministries, which sends a daily teaching to over 10,000 people all around the world. Her articles have appeared on The Elijah List, Charisma, Spirit Fuel and iBelieve.com. Kim's message is one of hope. She speaks to the heart of those who have grown discouraged and disappointed by the circumstances of life and imparts the desire and ability to stand against all odds; to stand for victory. She encourages people to press into God and discover that He is who He says He is.
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Have you been regularly tending and toiling the seeds in your heart?
