I love this time of year—even though the full bloom of spring is still weeks away, this season reminds me of my childhood growing up on our Maryland farm. This is the month when I’d help Daddy oil the blades of our plow in order to furrow the soil in our cornfields. Nothing smells sweeter than the spring scent of freshly tilled soil—especially when it’s furrowed deep. The tractor would cut a yawning channel in the field, flipping up rich, dark earth. It meant our fields were ready to take the seed, water, and sun. When I would help Daddy plant the corn seed, I could picture tall stalks of summertime grain.
Springtime on the farm reminds me of this wonderful quote from Samuel Rutherford, a great preacher of the Scottish Covenant: “Oh, what I owe to the file, what I owe to the hammer and to the furnace of my Lord Jesus. Why should I refuse the plow of my Savior, the one who makes deep furrows in my soul? I should not be surprised. I know that He is no idle husbandman, for He purposes a crop!”
Perhaps for you, this is a season when the Spirit of Christ is passing over your soul and cutting a yawning channel. Maybe a deep disappointment, a rejection, or an illness is bringing to the surface deep down worries and discouragements. Your soul feels raw and bruised from God’s plow. But He is bringing it to the light so that you might take the seed of the Gospel.
I don’t mean the Gospel once preached to you when you firstcame to Christ, when you first believed. I mean the Gospel being preached to you now. For now is the time of repentance and change, now is the time of transformation. Now is the time to open your soul to the water of His Word and the warmth of His Son. Once you were saved, but you are still being saved by God. And it is the Lord who is heaven-bent on purposing a crop in your life. Hebrews 12:11 says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Oh, what I owe to the Lord for the way He has plowed my soul! Last year I was deeply saddened to lose a close friend to cancer. Then there was a season of unusually difficult pain. Another time, I felt shame when a close friend chided me for hogging the spotlight, for not giving others credit.
Those things hurt. But it is not a hurt without purpose. God knows my character is in constant need of improvement; He knows I need to change. So I am glad to have Him furrow my soul.
Today, join me in welcoming the plow—the knifing edge of His Word. We can trust God; worry less and live more in His promises. The Lord has His hand on the plow, and He will convict you of sin as He conforms you to Christ. And remember the glorious outcome. Second Timothy 2 says, “The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.” Jesus will be the first to receive glory from the peaceful yield of righteousness in your life. So thank your God that He is no idle sower. Bless Him for the hardship and trust Him in the worry and the pain. He is purposing quite a harvest out of this new season of your life.
