Seeking the Favor of God
Break Up the Ground
“Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the LORD until he comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain.”— Hosea 10:12 (CSB)
Father, we come before You today because we need You.
Before we ask for Your blessings, Your provision, Your protection, or Your favor, we ask You to examine our hearts.
Show us the places that have become hard. Show us where disappointment, pride, fear, frustration, unforgiveness, or simply the busyness of life has made us less responsive to Your voice.
Break up the hard ground within us.
Give us hearts that seek You, not simply for what You can give us, but because we desire You.
And Father, as we seek You, may Your righteousness fall upon us like rain. May Your presence refresh us, Your Word transform us, and Your favor rest upon our lives so that everything You entrust to us ultimately brings glory to You.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Everybody Wants Favor
Most of us would readily say:
“Lord, I want Your favor on my life.”
We want God's favor over our families.
His favor over our marriages.
His favor over our children and grandchildren.
His favor over our health, ministries, careers, finances, decisions, and future.
There is nothing wrong with desiring God's favor.
Psalm 5:12 says:
“For you, LORD, bless the righteous one; you surround him with favor like a shield.”
But Hosea 10:12 challenges us to consider something deeper:
Are we asking God to send rain on ground we have neglected to cultivate?
We can desire God's favor while ignoring the condition of our hearts.
Hosea essentially says:
Before you start talking about the harvest, look at the ground.
“Break Up Your Unplowed Ground”
Imagine a field that has not been cultivated for years.
The ground becomes hard.
Weeds grow.
Roots become established.
And even good seed struggles to penetrate the soil.
Our hearts can become the same way.
Sometimes life hardens us.
Disappointment can harden us.
Unanswered prayers can harden us.
Being hurt by people can harden us.
Pride can harden us.
Even religious routine can harden us.
We can still attend church.
Still pray.
Still quote Scripture.
Still serve.
And yet there can be areas of our hearts where God has been trying to get our attention for a long time.
So Hosea says:
“Break up your unplowed ground.”
In other words:
Let God work the soil again.
There may be some things God needs to uproot before He plants something new.
Favor and Preparation
This is where the idea of God's favor becomes especially meaningful.
Sometimes we pray:
“Lord, bless me.”
But perhaps another prayer should accompany it:
“Lord, prepare me for what I am asking You to bless.”
But the farmer can prepare the field.
He plows.
He removes obstacles.
He plants.
He waits.
And then he depends upon God for what only God can provide.
That is a picture of our spiritual lives.
We cannot manufacture God's favor.
We cannot manipulate God into blessing us.
But we can cultivate lives of obedience, surrender, repentance, faithfulness, and expectancy.
We prepare the ground.God sends the rain.
“It Is Time to Seek the LORD”
This may be the most important sentence in the passage:
“It is time to seek the LORD.”
Not tomorrow.
Not when life becomes difficult.
Not when we need something.
Not when every other option has failed.
Now.
There are seasons when God seems to remind us:
You've spent enough time worrying about it. Seek Me.
You've spent enough time trying to figure it out yourself. Seek Me.
You've spent enough time asking everybody else what they think. Seek Me.
Seeking God means intentionally turning our attention toward Him.
It means praying.
Listening.
Reading His Word.
Obeying what He has already revealed.
Waiting when He says wait.
Moving when He says move.
And trusting Him when we cannot see what He is doing.
Seek His Face, Not Just His Hand
There is another danger when we talk about favor.
We can become more interested in God's hand than God's face.
His hand represents what He gives.
His face represents who He is.
The greatest expression of God's favor is not simply receiving another blessing.
It is experiencing deeper fellowship with Him.
Psalm 27:8 says:
“My heart says this about you: ‘Seek his face.’ LORD, I will seek your face.”
There is a difference between saying:
“God, give me what I want.”
and saying:
“God, I want You.”
And often something happens when that becomes the genuine cry of our hearts.
Our desires begin to change.
Our priorities begin to change.
Our decisions begin to change.
The soil becomes softer.
And we become more receptive to whatever God desires to do.
Preparing for the Rain
There is a powerful scene in the movie Facing the Giants. Coach Grant Taylor is discouraged. He has been praying, but he cannot see God moving.
An older prayer warrior named Mr. Bridges comes into his office and tells him a story about two farmers. Both farmers desperately needed rain. Both prayed for rain. But only one prepared his field to receive it.
Then comes the question:
Which farmer really believed the rain was coming?
The answer is obvious.
The one who prepared his field.
And that brings us right back to Hosea:
“Break up your unplowed ground.”
Sometimes we are praying:
“Lord, send the rain.”
“Lord, send Your favor.”
“Lord, open the door.”
“Lord, bless this ministry.”
“Lord, restore my family.”
“Lord, give me another opportunity.”
And perhaps God is asking us:
“Have you prepared the field for what you're asking Me to send?”
That is where faith and preparation meet.
Prayer asks for rain. Faith prepares the field.Obedience breaks up the ground.God determines when the rain comes.
Recently, we dined at a local restauraut called Sister Girls Kitchen, the owner, Renee shared with us that she was asking God for rain (favor) over her life, her business, and her future. And perhaps God was already beginning to prepare the field. Star and I thought we were going there for a meal. Another pastor and his wife, who was also there, thought they were there for oxtails. The four of us were led, after moving conversation with her, to offer words of encouragement and prayer, not realizing what God might have been doing, just maybe God was positioning her for favor.
Then Comes the Rain
Hosea ends with a beautiful promise:
“Until he comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain.”
Imagine a field that has been dry for months.
The soil is cracked.
The plants are thirsty.
Then suddenly clouds gather.
And rain begins to fall.
The farmer cannot manufacture that rain.
He can only prepare for it.
That is why seeking God's favor is ultimately an act of dependence.
We are saying:
“Lord, I have prepared my heart. I have surrendered my plans. I am seeking Your face. Now I am depending upon You to send what only You can send.”
And sometimes God's favor will look different from what we expected.
Favor does not always mean easier circumstances.
Favor does not mean we will never experience difficulty.
Joseph had God's favor and still went through a prison.
David had God's favor and still faced Goliath.
Mary had God's favor and still walked through misunderstanding and pain.
Paul experienced God's grace and still endured hardship.
God's favor is not merely God making life comfortable.
God's favor is God's gracious presence and purposes resting upon our lives.
A Question for Us Today
Perhaps instead of beginning with:
“Lord, give me Your favor,”
we should begin with:
“Lord, is there any hard ground in me?”
Is there something I need to surrender?
Someone I need to forgive?
Something I need to stop?
Something I need to start?
Some instruction from God I have been delaying?
Some area where I have been resisting Him?
Because Hosea tells us:
Break up the ground.Sow righteousness. Seek the Lord. And trust God for the rain.
Maybe today God is saying to somebody:
It is time.
It is time to seek Him again.
It is time to come closer.
It is time to stop merely asking for His hand and begin seeking His face.
Don't just seek the favor of God. Seek the God from whom favor flows.
And when our hearts are turned toward Him, we can trust Him with whatever harvest He chooses to bring.
Father, thank You for reminding us that You are the source of every good thing.
We desire Your favor, but even more than Your favor, we desire You.
Break up the hard places in our hearts.
Where pride has taken root, humble us.
Where disappointment has hardened us, soften us.
Where fear has controlled us, strengthen our faith.
Where disobedience has delayed us, give us courage to obey.
Where we have become spiritually comfortable, stir us again.
Lord, we prepare the soil of our hearts before You today.
Plant Your Word deeply within us.
Teach us to sow righteousness.
Teach us to seek Your face.
And then, Father, send the rain.
Let Your grace fall.
Let Your mercy fall.
Let Your righteousness fall.
Let Your presence fall upon our homes, our families, our marriages, our children, our grandchildren, our churches, our ministries, and every assignment You have entrusted to us.
May Your favor surround us like a shield, not merely so that our lives might become easier, but so that our lives might bring greater glory to You.
And today we declare together:
It is time to seek the Lord.
We will seek You until You come and rain righteousness upon us.
In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
Suggested Gospel songs to accompany your worship:
God's Favor- Donald Lawrence and Tri City
William Murphy - It's Working (Lyrics)
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