14 day plan

Navigating a “Crisis of Faith”

Day 11 of 14

NIV

Hosea 10:12

12Sow righteousness for yourselves,

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 his righteousness on you.

Reflection:  It’s a truism, isn’t it, that marriages fail when communication ceases. People wither on the emotional vine when meaningful communication breaks down. Similarly, you will wither spiritually and have a crisis of faith if you don’t speak with God. It is not for nothing that the apostle Paul says, ‘pray continually’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17) which, although hyperbole, makes the point. Keep talking with God.

Jesus’ life on earth had three essential components. First, and crucially, he used to get up early to pray to his Father. This ensured that his ministry was in sync with his Father’s plans. Second, Jesus used to retreat with his disciples in order to teach and encourage. Third, Jesus and his team went out and ministered to a needy and broken world. So, to summarise: Jesus had alone time, discipleship time and ministry time… and we need the same.

What is the ‘unploughed ground’ in your life, the areas of your life that could be fruitful but are not? If you have any desire to make the barren places fruitful, then let me say, like Hosea, ‘it is time to seek the Lord’.

Prayer:  Dear Father, the privilege of calling the holy God of the universe ‘Father’ is extraordinary. I treasure it, even though it is hard to comprehend. Help me not to waste a single minute of the opportunity to pray to you as Father.

Hosea 10:1-15

1Israel was a spreading vine;

he brought forth fruit for himself.

As his fruit increased,

he built more altars;

as his land prospered,

he adorned his sacred stones.

2Their heart is deceitful,

and now they must bear their guilt.

The Lord will demolish their altars

and destroy their sacred stones.

3Then they will say, “We have no king

because we did not revere the Lord.

But even if we had a king,

what could he do for us?”

4They make many promises,

take false oaths

and make agreements;

therefore lawsuits spring up

like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.

5The people who live in Samaria fear

for the calf-idol of Beth Aven.

Its people will mourn over it,

and so will its idolatrous priests,

those who had rejoiced over its splendor,

because it is taken from them into exile.

6It will be carried to Assyria

as tribute for the great king.

Ephraim will be disgraced;

Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances.

7Samaria’s king will be destroyed,

swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.

8The high places of wickedness will be destroyed—

it is the sin of Israel.

Thorns and thistles will grow up

and cover their altars.

Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

9“Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel,

and there you have remained.

Will not war again overtake

the evildoers in Gibeah?

10When I please, I will punish them;

nations will be gathered against them

to put them in bonds for their double sin.

11Ephraim is a trained heifer

that loves to thresh;

so I will put a yoke

on her fair neck.

I will drive Ephraim,

Judah must plow,

and Jacob must break up the ground.

12Sow righteousness for yourselves,

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 his righteousness on you.

13But you have planted wickedness,

you have reaped evil,

you have eaten the fruit of deception.

Because you have depended on your own strength

and on your many warriors,

14the roar of battle will rise against your people,

so that all your fortresses will be devastated—

as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,

when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.

15So will it happen to you, Bethel,

because your wickedness is great.

When that day dawns,

the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.