I love the story of the "Seed and the Sower" and as much as I have read this story I always come away with something different. This time, as God showed me how we meet people and when we talk with people, we can see them in one of these scenarios. Some may receive a word from you with joy, some may debate you on every scripture you speak and others will blatantly refuse to believe what you say as truth. I can say I have met many who I could relate to the four stages of heart condition. But, truth be told, I have found myself to have visited each of these stages at one time in my life. I give all glory to God for HE IS a God of His Word, for He never left me to my own foolish thinking, He has kept His hand upon me guiding me and directing back on His path. I may have wondered here and there, but He never let me go too far out of His sight. I pray that this insight from the God above will be enlightening to you as well as a blessing...
The wayside
Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord... (Hosea 10:12) For we need to prepare our
hearts and this is done through much praying and diligently seeking God on a
daily basis. “Now
he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food,
and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)”
2 Cor. 9:10. God is the supplier of the seed as well as
the bread that we eat for all comes from His hands. Our hearts seem to have been seared
as with a hot iron, we are stubborn, high minded and arrogant“…he that hardens his heart shall fall into mischief” Prov.
28:14. Our pride says we can do better, we have given ear to the
enemy in following all his ways, unknowingly, we have let him have control of our lives, for
when the Word of God is sown he comes immediately and takes away what we have
heard. Our pride says this is rubbish, but now something is breaking within us, something is changing our way of thinking, let us strive to break up that fallow ground of our heart, let us begin with
fervent prayer; we must fight off the lies of the enemy who will try to destroy the Word which we have heard, and we must not give him an opportunity to whisper in our ears to deceive us any longer. Don’t
give him any place in your mind and your heart, “…resist the devil and he will
flee” James 4:7.
The
stony, rocky ground
When
we hear the Word, it is received with great joy, it is sown within us but our
foundation is shallow and weak and we don’t have the ability to receive the
deeper meaning of the Word. And because this is the condition of our
heart for it has no deepness in which to take root, the Word says; “From that time many of his disciples went back,
and walked no more with him” Jn. 6:66. Those who walked with Jesus, those who saw
His miracles and heard His teachings, suddenly turn away, they allowed doubt,
fear of persecution from others, and unbelief to come in and they chose to turn
away from Christ. Our soil is partially prepared not all the stone have
been removed for the seeds cannot fully develop. Many times, we hear people say
that the Word is too difficult to understand, or it's just confusing. Because there
are still many obstacles (stones) that still stand in your way, Jesus says: "...In
the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the
world" (Jn. 16:33). He knows that we all face the temptation to doubt, and we may even turn
away for a while, but we will all come back to the only source who is able to
help us when we call upon Him. Our faith is critical in fully believing in what we
hear, tribulations and all sorts of evil that arises may come, but knowing that
God is on our side we are assured to be an overcomer just as Jesus. Whatever
the hindrances are to the Word being planted deeply with you must be dealt with
immediately. For that stony ground is covered with more and more rocks that
prevent the seeds to fully grab hold of the richness of earth. Therefore,
when you hear the Word, resist the lies of the enemy when he comes to take that
away which was planted. You must keep striving never give in to fear or doubt,
but believe that God desires to give you another heart: “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit
within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give
them an heart of flesh” Eze. 11:19. Continue to break up your fallow ground,
don’t give up.
The Thorny Ground
“…break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns”
Jer.4:3. As we come to God, as we truly receive Jesus as Lord of our
lives, a cleansing starts within and this is where we agree with God that this
bad habit, arrogant attitude or this selfish way of thinking must go. Our ground is receiving good seed, and it’s
beginning to take root in us, but the cares of this life, the things we find
ourselves so concern with daily are beginning to chock the seeds. There are so
many concerns that many of us face daily and it may seem hopeless at times but
we must grab hold of the Word and believe it with all that we have. We must let
go of the negativity, we must break away from the naysayers and we must close
our ears to the lies of the enemy. There is no justification for holding onto
things that displeases God. You must learn to let go, to relinquish control and
know that all is in God’s hands. Don’t allow the cares of this world to smother
your seed, don’t think that your way is better for this is just lies from the
enemy to make you stop pursuing God. And don’t allow the “deceitfulness
of riches” of this world, rob you of your glorious riches in heaven. The
Word is in you and the Word is doing what it’s supposed to do – and that is,
helping you to produce fruit.
The Good Ground
Now this is the place where we
should strive to be, we hear the Word, we receive it and now we are beginning
to bear fruit. This is the level that we all should desire our hearts to be,
the soil is plowed up and made ready for good seed. Our soil is supple, we are
receiving the Word and cherishing every moment to read it; and its roots are
deeply planted. The Word of God is
within us, it feels as though we have finally come home. It took some time for
us to reach this point, but in the struggle, we found the strength to keep
breaking up our fallow ground. There were struggles about letting go, there was
doubt as to if this Word is true, and there was spiritual warfare that we had
to engage in to battle the lies and to turn our focus onto God. Now, God’s Word
is firmly planted, we have complete access to His throne of mercy at any time
of the day and we know how to respond to those who ask us of our hope. Our
faith grows stronger every day, our knowledge of God enlightens our
understanding and His love fills us with not only assurance but with a sense of
awe. We are producing fruit that pleases God, we are sharing, helping,
encouraging, and praying with others on their journey to the Good Ground.
Chosen2Prayer
