Miracles Follow The Plow

By A.W. Tozer (as it appeared in The Evangelist Newsletter, August 2011)

“Break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.” Hosea 10:12

There are two kinds of ground: fallow ground, and ground that has been broken up by the plow.

The fallow field is smug, contented, protected from the shock of the plow and the agitation of the harrow. Such a field, as it lies year after year, becomes a familiar landmark to the crow and the blue jay. Safe and undisturbed, it sprawls lazily in the sunshine, the picture of sleepy contentment. Fruit it can never know because it is afraid of the plow and the harrow.

In direct opposite to this, the cultivated field has yielded itself to the adventure of living. The protecting fence has opened to admit the plow, and the plow has come as plows always come, practical, cruel, business - like and in a hurry. Peace has been shattered by the shouting farmer and the rattle of machinery. The field has felt the travail of change; it has been upset, turned over, bruised and broken, but its rewards come hard upon its labors. The seed shoots up into the daylight, its miracle of life, curious, exploring the new world above it. Nature’s wonders follow the plow.

There are two kinds of lives also: the fallow and the plowed. The man of fallow life is contented with himself and the fruit he once bore. He does not want to be disturbed. He smiles in tolerant superiority at revivals, fastings, self - searchings, and all the travail of fruit bearing and the anguish of advance. The spirit of adventure is dead within him…he has fenced himself in, and by the same act he has fenced out God and the miracle.

The plowed life is the life that has…thrown down the protecting fences and sent the plow of confession into the soul. Such a life has put away defense, and has forsaken the safety of death for the peril of life. Discontent, yearning, contrition, courageous obedience to the will of God; these have bruised and broken the soil till it is ready again for the seed. And as always fruit follows the plow.

(A.W. Tozer, Paths To Power)

A Prayer to the Chief Shepherd

"Therefore, I urge the congregation leaders among you, as a fellow leader and witness to the Messiah's sufferings, as well as a sharer in the glory to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is in your care, exercising oversight not out of constraint, but willingly, as God wants; and not out of a desire for dishonest gain, but with enthusiasm; also not as (machers) domineering over those in your care, but as people who become examples to the flock. Then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive glory as your unfading crown." 1 Peter 5: 1-4; the Complete Jewish Bible

Master, how shall I lead the flock

that You entrust to me,

How shall I adequately love the ones

that You have prepared for me?

How shall I entreat and protect

Your chosen ones in my care,

How shall I walk with certainty

Yet share Your example of humility so rare?

Master, will You teach me how to carry

Your lambs in my arms

Will You show me how to wrestle

for the willful ones in prayer?

Will You provide the care that cast away anxiety

Will Your constant flow of joy

replenish the burden of piety?

Gentle Shepherd, please lead me beside Your Living Stream

and restore my soul to Your Reflection...

For then I know that I can rest

in Your goodness and Mercy

as my feet find its way in Your Pastures of Peace.

Written by: Yulande Rix Oosthuyzen

August 07, 2011

Surrey, BC

Vir Moeder: DAAR IS N LAND

Daar is n land -
sonder die horison van skeiding

Daar is n land -
sonder pyn en lyding...

Daar is n land -
sonder die vrees van oseane

Daar is n land -
sonder die dofheid van trane...

Daar is n land  -
van soete vrede en rus

Daar is n land -
waar ons dierbares wag met n kus...

Daar is n land -
van blomme en glashelder riviere

Daar is n land -
met kosbare juwele vir mure...

Daar is n land -
met lofprysende heiliges

Daar is n land -
waar ons sondes vir altyd gereinig is...

Daar is n land - 
met n Ewigheersende Koning

Daar is n land - 
ons tuiste...ons woning...

Skrywer: Yulande Rix Oosthuyzen

Vrydag, 28 Mei 2004

Kanada, 12H30 

Lead on, Lord...

Weather beaten like an old farm plow
Is my shield of faith that I hold out
to the torrential rain of financial struggle

I know my Father is rich in houses and land
Yet, my cupboards are empty and my thin coat I can't stand
There's the pressures of rent, of schooling and gas
there's the extra labor for clothing, for food and for cash


I know that there must be an answer
that will close the books forever on this monetary cancer
I must plan for the land to be ploughed, watered and seeded -
Much prayer and many resources will be needed


I believe that tomorrow is the fruit of today
that blossomed and ripened in the labor I do and the words that I say
This is my Father's world - the gold and the silver are His
My path is never to forfeit even one little piece
of the adventures and rainbows of treacherous seas


So valiantly I go forward swinging my shield
It is time for project and process in this here field
Rain, sunshine or snow - it matters not
for this I know: That seasons will come and seasons will go
So I will find joy in today
In the truth of the clay resting and abiding in the Potter's Way


It is the pressure of His hand that I feel  as He firmly holds me
It is the shaping of my form I sense as He gently leads me


My faith shield, being tested by storms,
will be able to testify of distinguished norms
That though the struggles of life attempt to strip its colour
It only adds depth and boldness to the hand that holds it
An unwavering certainty that courage enfolds it

Written by: Yulande Oosthuyzen
New Westminster, BC November 2010

What is courage?

Is it the ability to advance and proceed
Even when uncertainties have blocked any possible speed?

Is courage the ability to exert strength on the inside
With boldness and clarity
Even though the obstacles are clearly outlined
and it probably would be easier to just retreat?

Is courage a quality that needs to be added to faith
when new territories are to be conquered
and the unknown is to be claimed?

Is courage a quality that develops perseverance
Or does perseverance develop courage?

What I do know is that courage somehow strengthens my faith
And the hand that holds the shield feels bolder, yet quieter
With a greater unwavering steadiness in its grasp -
the possibility of certain victory is enlarged

Written by: Yulande Oosthuyzen
New Westminster, BC November 2010

The Highway of Holiness

You beckon for me to follow
Your stature so strong, full of promise, mature

Your eyes are pure and glowing
Your delights are unsurpassed and full

Like a young *stag with firm purpose
You make known Your desire for me

For a moment I hesitate
For a while I linger in uncertainty...

Was it only the other day when I read the words of the **prophet?
Was it only a fleeting desire of yesterday to trade my reality for Your high places?

My crippled heart rejects the jagged heat of the narrow journey
and my attachment with the familiar cringe at the thought of likely separation...

Yet, You have already armed me with strength
You have already changed my hesitant feet
You have already graced my neck with transparent jewels
that reflect the colors of Your mantle that You placed on me

Why then do I fear to follow?
What more do I need to obey?

My eyes travel to meet Your face
My senses alert to Your call...

It is Your Name I reach for as I turn
It is the fragrance of ***Your ointments that enfold me -
Draw me away!

Oh, show me the cross where You died
Show me again the place where death was denied
Show me again where You forever traded my sorrow
Show me again the path You have for me to follow

Entwine my heart with chords of crimson
Weave my robes with royal perfection
Open my ear to hear the pure sound of Your voice -
*****" you are all fair, my love and there is no spot in you."

With joy and gladness will I run to meet you
With expectancy and certainty I know
That the narrow place ends here
In a magnificent display of prism colors on the highway of holiness


Written by: Yulande Oosthuyzen
July 15, 2011 – Surrey, BC

* Song of Solomon 8 :14
** Habakkuk 3 :19
*** Song of Solomon 1: 3 & 4
**** Song of Solomon 4 : 7 & 11 Corinthians 5 : 21

Vir my dierbare Moeder en sussies op Moedersdag

My gedagtes draai vandag ver...ver oor die uitgestrekte oseaan en die duisende myle wat ons skei...maar dan weer is my gedagtes ook intens en net so naby soos my eie hart, want vandag is n dag vir wonderlike herinnneringe aan al die tye wat ons saam deurgebring het.

 

Ek dink aan al die koppies tee wat ons gedeel het, al die heerlike speel dae wat ons kinders saam geniet het, al die koeke wat ons versier het en al die heerlike boerewors wat ons saam gebraai het. Die lag en gesels, die kleintjies wat mekaar gebyt en geknyp het , die warm sonskyn op my vel onder die groot wilge boom by die Kenridge huis swem bad.

 

Partymaal wonder ek hoe die lewe sou wees as ek die horlosie kon terug draai en ek weer in die Kaap om die draai by my familie kon bly - as ek weer die geleentheid kon he om die Boland van voor af te waardeer en van voor af herinneringe weg te le...Daar is belis n deel van my wat altyd sal bly verlang, wat nooit kan vergeet nie, en wat altyd sal bly wonder oor n soete re-unie wanneer ons nog almal jonk genoeg sal wees om weer oor die wit duine te gaan ry na n oggend by die Blou Peter...

 

Nietemin, te midde van baie verlange weet ek ook hoe gelukkig ek is om die roepstem van my Vader te hoor wat se dat elke land, volk en taal in Sy hart is, en dat dit Sy hartsbegeerte is dat AL Sy kinders Sy boodskap van liefde en vrede sal hoor...en dan onthou ek ook dat Jesus gese het dat daar niemand is wat nie vader of moeder of broer of suster verlaat het aan wie Hy nie weer vaders, moeders, broers en susters sal gee nie - ja, somtyds wel ook saam met vervolging.

 

Dit is dus vandag my hardsgebed dat elkeen van ons daagliks vir mekaar sal bid en sal opdra aan die troon van genade. Ons is ver van mekaar, maar ons is nog steeds n eenheid - een in ons begeerte om die Koninkryk van God te bou waar Hy ons geplaas het, een in ons doel om Sy liefde, vrede en Wysheid daagliks uit te lewe..."we want to live our lives in such a way that it counts for eternity."

 

En dit is juis hier waar ek eer wil betoon aan die wonderlikste Moeder vir my op die hele aarde  - n Moeder wie se voorbeeld my altyd geleer het dat haar Meester eerste in haar lewe was. Mamma, jou lewe van toewyding aan die Meester, jou liefde vir Sy werk, Sy huis, Sy Woord, Sy lewenswysheid, Sy teenwoordigheid is die mooiste mooi wat enige vrou ooit vir haar kinders kon gee. Jou lewe was nie perfek nie, maar selfs daarin spreek jou voorbeeld boekdele, want in jou menslikheid is jy n voorbeeld wat tot my spreek wanneer my nietige menswees my tot die swakke realiteit van my eie bestaan roep...en dit is dan wanneer ek jou telkens hoor se: "Vir my is die lewe Christus..." Ek sien dan so duidelik die padwyser wat se: There is only one way...

 

Dankie Moeder vir al jou sterkte, krag van karakter en moed vir more...Jy is n wonder in jou inspirasie en n miljoener in al jou geestelike skatte wat jy so vryelik met my deel. Daarom, my liewe Moeder eer ek jou weer eens vandag as n uitverkore instrument in die hand van ons Koning - n Moeder van Naam in die huis van ons Vader - en n Moeder wie se geestelike kinders ons eers eendag in ons Ewige Woning duidelik sal kan sien...Ek is so lief vir jou en so trots op jou...ons is voorwaar bevoorregd soos min...

 

n Wonderlike Moedersdag wens ekjou toe...en n wonderlike Moedersdag aan al my dierbare sussies - mooier as julle is daar nie...