I am awakened by the sound of the wind. How I got to the wilderness I don’t know, but I am keenly aware of the ground beneath me. It’s dry and cracked with no life at all. I lift my eyes to look around and all I see is dry, barren, cracked ground. The wind sends the dust from the ground to and fro. I shield my eyes from the bright sun and the dust of this harsh landscape.
“I don’t like it here”, I say. I start to walk toward barren hills so I can climb up higher to see the land. The climb is difficult because the hot ground and the rocks hurt my bare feet and my hands as I climb. I finally get to the top to spy out the land and I am discouraged because there is no end in sight to this environment. I have no idea how I got here or how to get back to where I was.
I sit down and say out loud, “Now what?” Just like that, My Heavenly Father is sitting beside me, smiling. I ask Him, “Why did you bring me here, Abba?”
He gazes towards the horizon and says, “This land has a purpose and a future, but I can’t birth its purpose yet because I need you to do something for me.”
I look at him and ask, “What do you need me to do, Abba?”
He looks me right in the eye and tells me, “I need you to break up this ground. If you will allow me to empower you, you will succeed.”
I stand up without hesitation and say, “Okay. Show me what to do.”
He leads me down the hill to the flat surface of the ground. “Are you ready child?” I nod yes, and He hands me a huge sledge hammer. It looks like it weighs too much for me to wield but as I take it from His hands I notice it’s light as a feather. I can feel His power in the sledge hammer surging though my entire body. He looks at me with intensity and simply nods.
I lift the hammer above my head and slam it into the ground. There is a loud BOOM and the ground quakes. “Again!” He shouts. I slam the ground, and the BOOM is twice as loud as before and the earth reals and quakes. He shouts for me to do it again and again…each time the sound of the hammer hitting ground is louder and louder until it is almost deafening.
I notice the ground is breaking apart and a whirlwind is picking up the dry crust and dust of the earth and removing it. You tell me to stop. I look around and earth beneath my feet is now soft, but it’s still barren.
I look at Him quizzically and ask, “I don’t understand. We broke the ground so why is it still barren?”
He is so patient with me as He answers. “The ground is broken up yes, but we need to sow seed, and then we will water the land.” He hands me a large bag of seeds.
The seeds are beautiful! They are all different shapes, sizes and colors. As I reach in the bag to grab a handful, He tells me to toss them in the air. As I do, He tells the winds, “Come four winds and blow!” The winds carry the seed in every direction. I keep tossing handful after handful of seeds into the air until the bag is empty. I feel like such a giddy child!
I set the empty bag down and say, “Okay, Abba. Send the rain.” But He hands me the hammer again. Again, I look at Him confused, but before I can say a word He tells me to hit the ground one more time. I slam the hammer into the ground with a deafening BOOM and the ground quakes. As the ground quakes, water starts to bubble up from beneath the soil watering the seed.
He leads me back to the top of the hill, and we sit down together. I’m amazed because I can already see grass, flowers, and trees growing and blooming right before my very eyes.
The landscape is beautiful and breathtaking. I cannot help but to weep at the beauty my eyes are seeing. He sits with me on the hillside in perfect peace until the sun sets and the stars shine.
He tells me, “I love that even when you do not understand, you trust me.” I tell Him how much I love Him, and He smiles that beautiful all-knowing smile.
I lean my head against His shoulder and ask, “Abba, who does this land belong to anyway?”
He take a deep breath and says, “My child does it matter?”
I reply “No Abba, not at all.”
1 Corinthians 3:6-8 (NLT) I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.
Hosea 10:12 (NKJV) Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For [it is] time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.