Vision180's

State of the Heart

‘The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others.’ Mark 4:14 NLT

In Jesus’ parable of the sower, the seed landed on four types of ground, producing four different results. ‘The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s Word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s Word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s Word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.’ (Mark 4:15–20 NLT)

The seed of God’s Word cannot fail: ‘It always produces fruit.’ (Isaiah 55:11 NLT) So if God’s promises aren’t being fulfilled in your life, ask yourself, ‘What’s the state of my heart? What kind of soil is part of who I am?’

Are you a surface person—thin-skinned and easily offended? A shallow person with no spiritual root system? Are you thorny ground? Are ‘the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things’ choking the spiritual life out of you? Or are you rich, fertile ground that produces results? Check the soil of your heart and, if necessary, ask the Lord to break it up, open it out, weed it and spread fertiliser on it.

SoulFood: Lev 27:30–33, Num 31:48–54, 1 Cor 16:1–3, 2 Cor 9:1–15