Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 8:
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
More and more people are dealing with the cares of this world, especially with adult children who have made unwise choices and find themselves in great difficulty. This leads to the rest of the family being impacted as well with the problems at hand. The media would have us believe that all is fine and normal with the economy but those other than the “elites” know better. Food prices keep going up, house prices are entering into a bubble again, and good paying jobs are getting harder to find. These all impact those who focusing on The Word but are being distracted by the above issues.
We must leave the cares of the world outside our prayer closet and focus on the pure Word which will give us peace. In doing so solutions to problems will come forth and produce fruit to be consumed by those around us.
Riches come and go and there are more examples to refer to in this day and time. The quest for riches is a tough road to follow unless your calling requires greater wealth. FATHER will see to it that you have sufficiency for your calling. If you calling does not require as much wealth, be content with what FATHER has called you to do. Be at peace in whatever state you are in. As Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Philippians chapter 4:
19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Need and desire may be two different things and if they don’t match, we need to check our intent.
The pleasures of this world are fleeting as well. How many things are sitting in the closet or garage that were suppose to give us pleasure. After a few years we may have a garage sale and virtually give away what was once thought to be a prized possession. The Word is what is precious and enduring thus we need to protect that seed entering our hearts and not allow it to be taken from us by the enemy, cares, riches, or pleasures.
Our long term goal is to mature in Christ and become Christ-like. “As He is so are we” is what we are ascending to in our daily study of The Word. Let not the temporary things of this world take our focus away from the eternal. Let us protect our heart and allow the seed to grow without outside interference.