fallow land;
fallow land, cropland that is not seeded for a season; it may or may not be plowed. The land may be cultivated or chemically treated for control of weeds and other pests or may be left unaltered. Allowing land to lie fallow serves to accumulate moisture in dry regions or to check weeds and plant diseases.
This was the not so encouraging information that stared at me from my computer screen as I followed a prompting from God to do a little research on the concept behind the word ‘fallow’. I had kept hearing the word in my mind for some time. It wasn’t an audible voice, it wasn’t loud, it wasn’t condemning, I could ignore it if I wanted to. But there it was and kept coming up again and again over the months. I am not a farmer, I even struggle to look after my pot plants properly, but I knew that fallow was an agricultural term which had the connotation of emptiness, to my mind. My suspicion was confirmed as I researched this notion a little. Words like ‘unseeded’, ‘unaltered’, ‘left to lie’, ‘unused’, ‘may or may not’, ‘still’, ‘wait’ and ‘patience’ kept appearing before my eyes.
Could I be in a ‘fallow season’? I thought. Is that what this creator God is trying to tell me? I’ve been dreaming, planning and praying about planting a church in the inner city for years now. The opportunity has come. And yet it seems like when the moment arrives, this God is telling me to lie still. Is this God who is so other to us, yet has a name that means ‘God is with us’, saying, in order to work through me he must work in me and around me?
Maybe.
But God it doesn’t sound very exciting. It’s not very ‘ta-dah!’, God. It’s quite hidden, and quiet, and slow, and well, out of my control. And pardon me, God, but it sounds a little ‘unChristian’. Didn’t Jesus come to fill us and give us life to the full? What about being missional, God? That means always being productive right? Always being on the go?
That’s right. It’s not very glamorous. It many look like you are going backwards. Lie still and do nothing. Watch God work.
This is something new to me. Coming from having been the leader of a medium sized, suburban, attractional church, productivity was essential to growth, success was measured through visible results. Staying still meant, well, it meant nothing was happening. Is this one difference between leading an established church and planting a church?
But it makes sense that there must sometimes be seasons in our lives when it looks like nothing is happening for a while. It could be that there are other things going on, of course, so we need to use discernment. Often when scripture talks about fallow land, there is a parallel to hardened hearts and an admonishment to ’till the land’ so to speak, or turn towards God.
Sow for yourselves righteousness,
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 righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12)
But what if a fallow season is not about disobedience, hardness of heart or sin but about a time of waiting for God to do a preparatory work that only he can?
And what about if it’s a season akin to the seventh year of the ancient Israelite sowing and reaping cycle? Exodus 23:10-11 says that in the seventh year the farmer was to let the field lie fallow. The whole reason for this was to remind folk that God was looking after the welfare of his people. He was in charge of the seasons, the rain, it was his providence that kept them alive. Trust me, God was saying.
It’s in this “unproductive” season that we lie still and let God do the work. All we have to do is cooperate with him. Seek him. Know him. And that is harder than it sounds because it means letting go of control when we are tempted to manipulate things according to our plans. It means in the same way that a farmer might might cultivate, chemically treat, check for pests and diseases in the land, God will choose to do what he needs to in order to prepare us for his kingdom work. Lie fallow. Can I accept these words? It sounds so counter-intuitive to my production obsessed ears.
But we are on sacred ground. What looks like inactivity, invisibility and downward mobility in the eyes of the world, is in fact success in the eyes of God. Success in the economy of the kingdom has its own definition.
Success in the economy of the kingdom has its own definition. Click To TweetAnd,
We get to watch God work. We wait for the harvest to come.
Read what the writer of Colossians says to the Christ-following listeners who were going through their own unique season;
As you learn more and more how God works you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you will have the strength to stick it out over the long haul- not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the Glory strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. Colossians 1:9-12 (The Message)
“As you learn more and more how God works you will learn how to do your work”. Profound.
As we lie still, as we allow God to do his work in what seems like the vacuum of emptiness, his Spirit brings order, shape and beautiful design to our nothingness. We are prepared to do his work in his timing.
Lie fallow.
Can you accept these words?
—
[Photo: Jan Tik, CC via Flickr]
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.