by Bert Harned, MD

I have been asking myself lately, and others, “What is the cause of so little life change and ‘fruit’ when God has clearly provided everything we need for it?” It is His will that we live and talk so as to glorify Him, instead of using Him to get what we want (or think we need). Yet, few of us do so.  Why?  Another way to put this is to ask, “What causes the Word of God to be so ineffective in my daily life?”

Mark 4 contains the well-known parable of the sower. It mentions four kinds of ground that the good seed (God’s Word) encounters. Only the “good ground” produces fruit. The other three mention things that cause the Word of God to be ineffective.

#1.  Satan, who takes away the seed as soon as it hits the hard path.

#2.  Trouble or persecution (rocky ground). When this happens in folks who have “no real root,” “they only endure for a little while and then stumble and fall away.”

#3.  Worries, distractions, pleasures, deceitfulness of riches, and desire for other things cause the Word to be choked, suffocated. This is called “thorny ground.”

These are the realities of everyday life, i.e. Satan, trouble, persecution, worries, distractions, wrong desires, deceit.  God does not promise escape from troubles, distractions, and Satan’s attacks, but He does promise endurance, peace and victory there!  And most amazing of all to me is that 100 times what was sown is possible to every single believer. That is true because we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit Himself! (See Mark 4:20)

And Jesus said that “I am with you always” — that cancels out #1, #2 and #3 above.