Seeking God For Arkansas 2018

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. - Hosea 10:12

There are presently many great movements exalting Jesus in Arkansas. The Holy Spirit is orchestrating several advancements in areas of the local church, family, business, politics, education, and entertainment media. In the midst of these great movements, I cannot deny the presence of a very distinct draw of the Holy Spirit to seek God for more. While I am deeply grateful for every work of God, I am convicted that Jesus is calling His church in Arkansas to more than where we are. The Apostle Paul established a fundamental value in Ephesians 3:19 that we should never settle for less than the fullness of God. If there is more for us to experience or a greater measure to which we are called, then I want it.

This conviction began some weeks ago in the reading of Hosea 10:12. The agricultural imagery of this passage speaks beautifully. In the midst of a harsh rebuke, the Lord shifts the conversation to a hope for revival. Sow righteousness and reap steadfast love. We can all agree with the desire for a harvest of steadfast love in Arkansas, but what about breaking up our fallow ground? Another agricultural term, fallow ground is used to describe soil that has grown tough, dry, and nutrient deficient. This phrase can be directly cross-referenced with Jesus’ parable of the sower in Matthew 13. Jesus tells the story of a sower who planted seed along a path, rocky ground, thorns, and finally among good soil where it took root and produced long-term fruit.

Jesus speaks of our heart as the soil, and in Hosea the Lord speaks of our heart as the fallow ground. Fallow ground represents the areas of our heart that may have grown dull, dry or unresponsive to the word of the Lord. Hosea puts the responsibility on us to break up our fallow ground and make our hearts receptive to the word of the Lord. Our hearts should represent rich soil that is receives the word of the Lord and produces long-term change. This is synonymous with David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

This breaking of our fallow ground is the means to a time of seeking the Lord for revival. I feel a deep, personal call resonating in my spirit that now is the time to seek the Lord for the future of Arkansas. Specifically, I am committing to a season of preparation between now and the end of the year. I will spend the next three months breaking up my fallow ground by fasting the first Monday through Wednesday of October, November, and December and taking extra time each week to seek the Lord in Scripture, worship, and prayer. Then, I will participate in 21 days of fasting and prayer that Jesus would rain down righteousness upon Arkansas from January 1st – 21st, 2019. Several area churches have already committed to fast in that timeframe, and I simply intend to join them.

This is not intended to be a large corporate fast, but there may be others who share this resonating call to seek God for Arkansas. I believe that the Holy Spirit will begin to give us clarity about the future of Arkansas on this journey between now and the January fast. I will be sharing ongoing updates over the coming months to a special email list. Please let me know if you would like to be including in this ongoing communication and join me on this journey. You can use the form below to add yourself to the list.

Don’t just take my word for it. Seek the Lord and see if the same call resonates within you. I believe that there is a greater measure of revival appointed for my family, my church, and for Arkansas. I believe that our churches are being called to something greater. I can’t tell you what, but I can invite you on my journey. Seek the Lord with me for revival in Arkansas.