Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.

If you have ever read a passage of scripture in the Bible and found yourself with more confusion than clarity when you finished reading, then today’s devo is for you! If you read that sentence again in an overly enthusiastic voice, it sounds like the opening line to an infomercial. Anyway, I found myself encouraged and very grateful that the passage of scripture we are walking through today not only included a parable of Jesus but also an explanation of it by Jesus Himself.

In Matthew 13:1-9, Jesus begins speaking to a large crowd and tells the Parable (or story) of the Sower. Then, in verses 18-23, Jesus gives us a plain explanation of what this parable means.

I find it interesting that this story is called “The Parable of the Sower,” and not “The Parable of the Soil” or “The Parable of the Seed.” That gives me hope, because it reminds me that the most important part and main character of this story isn’t us or even the seed. It’s the person with whom it starts. It’s Jesus, the Sower, the one who spreads the seed. This reminds me that regardless of my ability to hear and understand any passage of scripture or “message about the kingdom” (vs. 19), the Sower, Jesus Himself, is still sowing seed. This relieved the pressure to always hear or always understand what Jesus is trying to show me. Sometimes we grasp it, and sometimes we miss it, but the Sower is still sowing seeds in our lives, and He always will be. Praise God for His faithfulness.

Aside from that, I want to create some space here for us to be honest about the condition of our hearts today. Jesus described four types of ground that the seed of the message of the kingdom was scattered on: the path where the birds came and ate it up, the rocky ground where it sprang up quickly but died because it had no place to take root, the ground with the thorns which grew up and choked the plants that were sprouting from the seed, and the good soil where it produced a plentiful crop. Which ground describes the condition of your heart today? 

I find myself almost always in between the good soil and the ground with thorns. On my 7 Marks assessment (take this on our Venture Church app if you haven’t yet), the daily essentials of spending time in prayer with God were pretty high on the list, but I daily wrestle with worry, fear, anxiety, and, recently, doubt. I have found myself relearning countless things that God has already taught me because I have allowed lies, fear, and worry to squeeze my mind so tight that there has been no room in my life to remember messages of the Kingdom like God’s love, His faithfulness, and His promises to provide. Where are you today?

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Reread Matthew 13 and find yourself in this story. Do you hear the word of the Lord, understand it, and become different now that you have heard it? Are you lost and seeking an understanding of who Jesus is? Do you often receive the word of the Lord with joy but find yourself struggling with consistency and crashing shortly after? Do you hear the word, but often worry or find security in things other than Jesus that choke out the word of the Lord in your life?
• Once you find where you are today, be reminded and meditate on the truth that, regardless of what ground you have in your heart today, the Sower is still sowing seed. The fact that you are reading this right now is proof that Jesus loves you where you are right now, and He is still pursuing a relationship with you regardless of the condition of your heart. He loves you, and nothing can change that. Find hope in that today.
• Prayer: God, thank you for being a faithful Sower. Thank You for continually sowing the seeds of Your Word and Your love into my heart, even when I don’t receive them. Thank You for loving me enough to send Your son, Jesus, to live a sinless life, die a death He didn’t deserve, and then rise from the dead three days later so that I could experience Your forgiveness, Your love, and a relationship with You. Expose the conditions of my heart and my soul that make it hard for me to receive Your Word. Rid me of the things in me that make it hard to receive You, and heal me so that I can begin to receive Your Word and follow You with all of me. Amen.