Compassion & Careনমুনা

“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” — Matthew 13:23

This verse has been taught so many times, but it seems that every single time I hear or read it, I learn something new. That is how the Word of God is supposed to be. 

I heard a speaker once talk about scripture in this way. She said, “When we put the Word of God within us, the Holy Spirit uses it like a time-released capsule so that when we are in trouble or need encouragement, the Word that is in our hearts comes back to our remembrance. However, if we have not put any Word within us, the Holy Spirit has nothing to work with. It is our job to plant the Word of God within us and it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to produce exactly what we need, when we need it.” 

Each spring, people plant flowers, gardens, and crops. The seeds produce plants and bring forth fruits and vegetables. The natural world gives us a picture of the seeds of the Gospel planted in human hearts. When Jesus saw sowing seeds of grain, He told a crowd that the words of Scripture are like seeds. “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11).

The truth is that just like we are what we eat, we are also what we believe. If we believe negative things, we tend to have a negative view. However, if what we focus on is uplifting and positive, we will tend to want to look for the positive. Just as the ground receives seeds and soaks in the rain when it is plowed up thoroughly, and when we open our minds to the Lord’s instructions, we find blessing because the Word teaches us that there is a blessing in submission and obedience. However, if we harden our hearts when God is speaking, we reap the opposite. “Sow righteousness for yourselves, 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 his righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12).

So many times, we will get ready to hear the Word and worship God. Very often, we will be met with obstacles that try to prevent us from that happening. Why? Because Satan often tries to hinder us from hearing the words of eternal life because he knows if we believe them, we are no longer bound. We must remember that we do not have to remain bound in our thought life, we can resist the devil and receive the good seed in our hearts. “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23).

It’s a promise that we have. The more we study and hear the Word of God, our faith expands and helps us to believe what has been sown in our hearts. What we have to remember is that we can’t just study or listen once in a while because we need that constant reminder of who God is and what He can do. That is how we produce a crop as opposed to a plant. We do our job and God gives the increase.

Declare this: I open my heart to receive the living Word of God. It is my strength and provides wisdom and freedom from the evil one. I will be consistent with hiding the Word of God in my heart so it can grow and produce fruit. I am thankful that the Holy Spirit works in my life to bring to remembrance the exact Word that I need for the right time that I need it.