 Weekly Devotional |
This Is the Time to Seek the Lord |
August 18, 2026 · Anne Barkley |
Scripture focus: Hosea 10:12 • Isaiah 43:19 • Luke 8:4–8 • James 1:21 |
There is a blueprint to how God moves, and it is written into the very fabric of time. Throughout Scripture, God has appointed times to accomplish His purposes. An appointed time is a divine intersection. It is a moment when Heaven and earth meet, and we are invited to step into His purpose. |
These are exciting times, and God is calling us to see how He is working and join Him in the work. Now is the time for us to seek the Lord. Scripture gives us this instruction: |
“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.” |
The theme of the Book of Hosea is “Redeeming Love” as God seeks to draw His people to Himself. God’s love is like a never-ending harvest. It’s always there, always available, no matter what we’ve done or where we’ve been. It’s a love that forgives, a love that heals, a love that empowers us. |
The major truths of the Book are: |
- God suffers when His people are unfaithful to Him.
- God cannot condone sin.
- God will never cease to love His own and, consequently, He seeks to win back those who have forsaken Him.
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Our ultimate purpose is to seek the LORD sincerely and continuously until He comes to rain righteousness upon us, bringing spiritual renewal and forgiveness. |
God’s blueprint for seeking Him flows through the Old Testament, the New Testament, and to us today: |
REPENTANCE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, REDEMPTION, REVIVAL, RESTORATION, REDEEMERS! |
Seeking God in the Old Testament |
It was Israel to whom the prophet Hosea was writing these solemn words, for individuals and as a nation that had rebelled against the Lord. They had followed after other gods, committed spiritual adultery, strayed far from the God of their fathers, and had become estranged from the One who chose them to be His own special inheritance. |
Hosea was calling the errant nation of Israel to repent of their sins, return to their first love, and seek the Lord with all their heart if they were to avert the rapidly approaching judgment that had been prophesied by so many holy men of God. |
Sow to Yourselves in Righteousness and Reap According to Mercy |
The people of God were to rend their hearts in sincerity and truth and not to simply tear their clothes in an outward show of mock remorse and other hypocritical actions. They were to sow with a view to righteousness and reap in accordance with mercy and loving-kindness. They were to live in a way that honored the Lord. They were to have a change of heart and not simply give an outward show of remorse. |
Break Up Your Fallow Ground |
They were to break up the uncultivated ground in their hardened and rebellious hearts. For too long Israel had gone her own way. |
A.W. Tozer describes it this way: |
“The fallow field is smug, contented, protected from the shock of the plow and the agitation of the harrow. Never does it see the miracle of growth; never does it feel the motions of mounting life nor see the wonders of bursting seed nor the beauty of ripening grain. Fruit it can never know because it is afraid of the plow and the harrow.” |
The cultivated field is the opposite, as it is broken and turned over so that the seeds of God’s Word can take root, grow, and produce a harvest of righteousness for the Lord. |
The prophet Isaiah describes what God wants to do in our lives: |
“Behold, I will do a new thing; Now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?” |
They were to seek after God and to keep on seeking His favor. They were to search for Him until He heard and answered them, teaching them righteousness and pouring His righteous gift of salvation upon them. |
For It Is the Time to Seek the LORD |
“For it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.” |
To “rain righteousness” is the same image Isaiah uses elsewhere: |
“Drop down ye heavens from above and let the skies pour down righteousness.” |
To “rain” is that of seeking to be taught continually—seeking diligently and continuing the search up until the time when they would find it. The law and the prophets directed to it, so that there were always in Israel those waiting for it. |
Their connection to God under the Old Covenant was a “works-based access.” Israel of old was so to order their ways in expectation of His coming. |
Seeking God in the New Testament |
Our connection to God under the New Covenant changes to a “grace-based access” through Jesus Christ and qualifies us for miracles. |
We know that the ultimate fulfillment of the Righteousness of the LORD coming down from heaven was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It was John the Baptist who announced His arrival: |
“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world…I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him…And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” |
The analogy of sowing was continued in the New Testament, as many of the parables Jesus taught were about sowing and reaping. |
In the Parable of the Soils, Jesus wanted to reveal to us the human heart in its response to the Word of God. In other words, He gives us four different examples of how the human heart will often respond to the Word of God. |
“And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: ‘A Sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.’ As he said these things, he called out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’” |
Let us consider the meaning of the Parable of the Sower: |
- First, there is the hard heart. The seed that falls along the roadside represents people who hear the Word of God but never really believe.
- Then there is the shallow heart. That is the seed that falls on stony ground. This signifies the people who hear the Word of God and receive it with joy, but because there is no root to sustain them, they wither.
- Next, there is the crowded heart. That is the seed that falls on ground where weeds choke out its growth. Slowly and surely, these people, busy with the cares and riches of the world, just lose interest in the things of God.
- Finally, there is the fruitful heart that receives the Word. The seed falls on good ground, and the plants produce a rich harvest.
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We are the ones who determine what kind of soil our hearts will be. We decide whether we will have a hard heart, a shallow heart, a crowded heart, or a receptive heart. |
James instructs us how to receive the Word: |
“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls.” |
When Christ, the Living Word, takes root in our lives, we receive the Holy Spirit, who acts as the Divine Teacher who illuminates Scripture, reminds believers of Jesus’ Words, and guides us into all truth. (John 14:26; 16:13) |
This teaching role involves revealing spiritual realities that human wisdom cannot grasp and transforming lives by applying God’s Word to daily decisions and circumstances. (1 Corinthians 2:9–12) |
Indeed, the fruit of the Spirit that forms in the life of a believer is a manifestation of God’s mercy and grace, working in and through His child. Jesus reminds us of our complete dependence upon Him: |
“Without Me you can do nothing.” |
But a Christian who has become lukewarm and careless toward God, or one who doubts the truth of His Word, needs to: |
“Break up the fallow ground.” |
We need to revisit God’s Word of truth and root out weeds of bitterness, legalism, unforgiveness, unbelief, disinterest, or distrust, so that the seeds of righteousness sown in our hearts can take root as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—to the glory of our merciful God! |
Seeking God Today in Our Lives and Nation |
The call to break up the fallow ground and turn over the unplowed earth is an equally urgent call to the Body of Christ in this increasingly apostate Church Age as it was at the time of Hosea. |
Today, as then, many Christians have strayed far away from the glorious Gospel of Grace and are proclaiming another gospel, looking to a different Jesus, to a works-based gospel or a Cross-less gospel, to a seeker-friendly gospel, a legalistic gospel, a social gospel, a prosperity gospel, a self-centered gospel—gospels devoid of truth. |
These days are critical: we must wake up from our spiritual numbness, for our salvation is nearer than ever. (Romans 13:11) We must arise and engage in battle so that God’s Name may be made great among the people. (Malachi 1:11) |
First, we must seek the Lord in our own hearts and in our own homes. May we cast out the works of darkness and walk in the light as He is in the light. May we be led by the Spirit, so that we will not carry out the desires of the flesh or become hardened of heart. |
Let us remember that NOW is the accepted time to seek the Lord. Tomorrow may be too late! |
Today we see our enemy, the anti-Christ spirit, revealed and working through ideologies of Islam, communism and socialism attempting to defeat the Name of the LORD our God and remove God’s glory in our nation and across the world. |
Jo Hancock from His Vessels Ministry breaks it down: |
Islam is a comprehensive religio-political ideology that demands total submission to Allah, governs every aspect of life through divine law (Sharia), and seeks to establish a global caliphate under its dominion, rendering all other systems and beliefs subordinate or extinct. Our God Most High is removed, and Allah is supreme. |
Socialism is an economic and political system in which the state assumes centralized ownership and control of a nation. God is removed, and man rules. |
Communism is a totalitarian political and economic system in which a single party abolishes all private property and personal freedom. God is removed, and dictatorship rules in a godless society. |
God has allowed our enemy to arise among us to reveal our desperate need for Him! |
Let us watch and pray and seek His face at such a time as this. God’s Spirit is moving, and He is countering the spirits that operate through socialism, communism, Islam and those who have been perverse. |
The Lord God of liberty, freedom, truth, justice and righteousness hears our prayers, and He will arise! |
For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty! |
May God give us the courage to sow righteousness, the strength to break up the unplowed ground in our heart, and the perseverance to seek Him until He showers us with His deliverance and unfailing love! |
Hosea 10:12 — Sow righteousness, break up the fallow ground, and seek the LORD. |
Isaiah 43:19 — God declares that He is doing a new thing. |
Isaiah 45:8 — The heavens pour down righteousness. |
John 1:29, 32, 34 — John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Son of God. |
Luke 8:4–8 — The Parable of the Sower and the different soils. |
James 1:21 — Receive with meekness the implanted Word. |
John 14:26; 16:13 — The Holy Spirit teaches, reminds, and guides believers into truth. |
John 15:5 — Jesus teaches that apart from Him, we can do nothing. |
1 Corinthians 2:9–12 — The Spirit reveals the things of God that human wisdom cannot discern. |
Romans 13:11 — Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. |
Malachi 1:11 — The LORD’s name will be great among the nations. |
2 Corinthians 3:17 — Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. |
Preserving Betty Jo Hardy’s devotional legacy and continuing the ministry through Anne Barkley. |
| From The Throne Ministry | A weekly devotional ministry continuing the legacy of Betty Jo Hardy through Anne Barkley. | You are receiving this devotional because you subscribed to From the Throne or previously requested to receive these messages. | |
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