Dearest Reader,
This faith talk is based on the Word of Life Quiet Time on December 31, 2022. During my quiet time the Lord revealed great wisdom to me and I would love to share what has been discerned.
Matthew 13:3-9 “And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear”
Jesus then explained the parable’s meaning:
Matthew 13:18-23 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
There is so much wisdom in this! The Holy Spirit revealed to me how this applies to my life.
- Whenever I hear the word of God and neglect it:
- Not prioritizing Quiet Time
- Putting the Word off -being “too busy” to read
- Being “lazy” in learning
- Not praying for discernment to understand the text
- Standing On The Word For Short Time
- Believing and understanding the scriptures is a wonderful thing; but when circumstances arise where the Word is tested, I don’t ask God for strength and fruit to withstand produced by the Holy Spirit which leads to Him being suppressed. Thus I rely on myself to know the scriptures but I don’t hold fast to the scriptures and instead have a spiritual panic attack.
- Spiritual Panic Attack: This is described as a lashing out towards God; sayings things along the lines of grumbling and complaining, half-heartedly speaking the Word, nonchalantly following obedience to the word.
- Neglecting Quiet Time: “I have all day” “It’s not important right now” “I can do it tomorrow” The killer statement for me is giving into the flesh and saying “I don’t have the time to throughly study” so I’ll ‘wait’ for the perfect time that in fact never come. OH NO! Heart Check Level: Serious Attention Required ❤️🩹
- The Free for All Mindset: The Word already has no root, so to make it worst and give Satan an advantage I’ll focus on anything else BUT Jesus. This dangerous because temptations can come subtly and sneakily. For example: Idols can creep in, the wicked spirit of pride can come with other temptations, lustful thoughts when I have no fruit of self-control.
- The entire day is a spiritual battle. The moment I ‘rest’ in life not being a spiritual battle I succumb myself to an enemy attack. A big one for me is distractions.
THIS IS REALITY
The sower as a godly woman is realizing where you fall in the categories above and asking God to help you change them. The article on The Diligent Woman is helpful because the sower who remains in the Lord can bear fruit. Matthew 13:23 parallels to John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” Examples of me bearing fruit are:
- Prioritizing quiet time and processing scripture -Holy Spirit producing self-control
- Processing scripture for application of the scripture -Holy Spirit giving me wisdom and discernment
Prayer:
Thank you Father for your great wisdom, love, and kindness. I am so grateful that You are kind and patient with me to correct and discipline me with love and gently. I ask of you Father that I can be blessed with self-control and that you spark a fire in me that takes great delight in You at all times. The scripture says in Psalm 37:4 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart and in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” Lord, I want you. I want to know You and love You with all my heart. Nothing matters more then this. Help me to do this by leaning on Your strength.
Amen.
Scripture Source: https://www.biblegateway.com