“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from Heaven, and do not return there, But water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
From the earliest farmers and tillers of the soil to the avid gardener to the casual home owner who wants a green lawn … mankind has desired to better understand this elusive and much needed blessing from the heavens that can lead to fortune and success. Without it … there is no crop …no harvest … and no success!
To the farmer job#1 is to somehow capture the water! His challenge is to adapt and to find ways to allow the water to infiltrate and store it in the soil! You see, three inches of rain does no good if two and a half inches of it run off.
Having healthy soil that has been taken care of, furrowed when it is time for ultimate retainage, will lead to the soils ability to soak up the rain from above. In the same way, as the parable of the soils that Jesus taught in Luke 8:4-15 and in the parallel passages of Matthew and Mark, our hearts are like the soil of the earth.
Each of us must ask:
- What type of soil/heart do I have and take care of?
- Do I take the time to attend to the soil of my heart?
- Do I keep clean, fertilize, furrow and do the things necessary to have a receptive heart to God’s truths?
Healthy hearts will soak up … will drink in … the life-giving waters of the Word of God, with no runoff. Healthy hearts will be furrowed by a faith that trusts in the Lord completely. Healthy hearts will be tilled by the trust we have that God knows best and He will always have our best interest at heart!
We must not imitate those who have lived before us who demonstrated distrust, rebellion and indifference to what the God of Heaven and Earth … the only true and living God … declares!
The writer of Hebrews makes a very interesting inspired point regarding the kind of heart that is hardened for whatever reason to the blessing s of God’s Word. “For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God.” (Hebrews 6:7)
May each one of us give God’s Word the opportunity to penetrate our hearts and bring forth the wonderful fruit that He desires from those He loves!
Bill Fairchild, Jr
P.S. How are you doing on your daily Bible reading?
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