Keep Digging until All the Rocks Are Gone from Your Heart
David W Palmer
(Luke 9:62 DKJV) And Jesus said to him, "No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
The "plow" (plough) Jesus mentions here is a farm implement used to prepare soil to receive seed—by digging it up. When we begin our Christian life, we literally plow up the hard places in our hearts, softening them to receive God's word—his love, instructions, promises, teaching, and grace.
However, if we get to a point in our lives where we harden our hearts to any of the things that God is saying—like forgive and forget, love your enemies, or tithe—we have stopped plowing; we have looked back to the old way of dealing with things. Yes, at that very point, we allow hard places to remain or form in our hearts, and we stop God's word-seeds from taking root and growing there. Every commitment to disobedience is a rock in the soil of our hearts:
(Mark 4:16–17 NKJV) "These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; {17} and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. …"
If we are looking back, we may fool ourselves into thinking that we are still heading in the right direction; but if we stop God's new seeds from taking root in us, sooner or later the harvest will grind to a halt; this is the wrong direction. Inevitably, we will stop producing fruit for God's kingdom. Jesus will try repeatedly to bring us back to fruitfulness, but this cannot happen without the digging of the plow, and lots of "manure"—and we all know what it feels like to have a pile of that dumped on us; but apparently, we need it to be fruitful:
(Luke 13:6–9 ESV) And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. {7} And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' {8} And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. {9} Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"
If you are like me, you certainly don't want to be "cut … down." So let's keep our hand on the voluntary plow, and our eyes looking forward— "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb. 12:2 KJV). And let's keep digging up those rebellious, stony places in our hearts until they willingly receive and grow all of God's word-seeds to fruitful harvest.
Is the Holy Spirit reminding you of something he wants you to do, to receive, or to believe; but you have hardened your heart to it? If so, now is a great time—not to engage your self-effort into it—but to ask for his forgiveness (mercy), and to find his grace to obey. What he is asking you to do doesn't depend on your ability; his plan is to give you his ability to live in obedience. You can find his grace to help you today:
(Hebrews 4:16 NKJV) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
God bless you today as you resume—looking to Jesus, God's living word, with your hand to the plow of your heart.
(Hosea 10:12 NLT) "I said, 'Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.'"
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