I walked out the door first thing this morning to take out the dog, and a sheet of ice was on my steps. We did not leave the entryway of the front door. So, onto the backyard we went. Out the patio door onto the deck, where the soft gentle rain was falling on our winter coats, the warmer than expected air made the coat feel unnecessary. The soft snow cracked with the light ice on top as we went out into the yard.

I have been praying for a heat dome over our area, saying snow to enjoy not ice to destroy. The warm air and the light rain made me smile as I pictured a heat dome over our area. But what surprised me the most was the differnce between the front and backyard. One set of steps I could not even consider walking on and the others left footprints in the snow.

This morning I have been reading the prophet Hosea and in chapter 10 verse 12 it says, “Sow 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.”

I love this verse because it is a partnership between us and God. We are invited to break up the uplowed ground, and He will shower us with righteousness. Showers falling on hard ground do not penetrate the soil. But a prepared ground can receive the showers as they fall.

To make this practical, I believe the Lord is inviting us to break up some old deeply rooted thinking patterns that we think have been the truth and have felt safe, but have actually been doctrines of men that have kept us from the revelation of Jesus Christ.

When it starts to rain, hard ground is going to have rain run off, but broken up ground is going to receive the rain. We get to decide what kind of ground we are going to be and the rain will reveal it. Bring on the plow! Let it rain!!!! Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org