Patient for the Harvest
What kind of harvest have you reaped from God’s Word?
Verse of the Day
“And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.”
Today’s Devotional
Today’s verse comes from one of my favorite parables, the parable of the four types of soil: hard, rocky, thorny, and good. Jesus can explain it so much better than I can. “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.” (Luke 8:11-15)
My pastor says that all of us have all four types of soil in our hearts. In fact, I’ll post a video below today’s questions so that he can tell you about it. The Enduring Word commentary says the same thing: “We benefit from seeing bits of ourselves in all four soils. Like the footpath, sometimes we allow the word no room at all in our lives. Like the rocky places, we sometimes have flashes of enthusiasm in receiving the word that quickly burn out. Like the soil among thorns, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are constantly threatening to choke out God’s word and our fruitfulness. Like the good ground, the word bears fruit in our lives.”
Until recently, I thought that the “harvest” in this verse was converting other people to believe in Jesus. And maybe it is. But what if the harvest also signifies the bounty that we get from God’s Word? I know from personal experience that I have to hear things several (or hundreds of) times before they really sink in. Jesus tells us that the seed is God’s Word. And as I read His Word or hear it spoken, those truths land in the soil of my heart. Jesus also tells us that there needs to be patience in the harvest of God’s Word in my life.
I am living proof of this parable. I have had the Bible read to me since the womb. I studied the Bible as a child and was in trivia-type competitions. But as an adult, I was intimidated by the Bible. I had no idea how to read the Bible and apply it to my daily life. I knew how to do this in theory, but not in practice. But the more time I spent in the Word, the more I fell in love with it. The more times I read certain parts of the Bible, the more revelation I received from God about what I was reading. What I know about the Bible is the equivalent of one drop in the ocean. But God is faithful to continue to draw me into His arms with the words in His Word.
For today, let’s look at how Jesus describes the people who will patiently reap a huge harvest from God’s Word. People with good heart-soil are honest. This means they are not rationalizing disobedience or cherry-picking what they obey. It means they are honest with God about how much they need Him. It means they are people who honor their commitments and mean what they say. These are people who value the truth.
People with good heart-soil are good-hearted. (This seems redundant. I realize this.) Other translations say that these people have noble and virtuous hearts. My guess is that these are the people who have already been wrestling with God to remove some of the hard, rocky, or thorny parts of their hearts.
People with good heart-soil are hearers of the Word. If we want to have good soil, how much time do we devote to reading the Bible, listening to Godly teaching, and any other activity that involves reading or hearing God’s Word? When I compare my Bible-hearing time with my TV-time or any other leisure activity, which one comes out on top?
Lastly, people with good heart-soil CLING to what they hear from God’s Word. To cling is to hold tightly. Imagine how tightly you would cling to a life-saving buoy if you were drowning in a turbulent ocean? That’s how we are told to hold on to God’s Word. How often do we hear a good sermon without taking any notes? How often are we writing Scripture in our journals? How often do we memorize verses that speak specifically to our hearts? Simply put, how much value do we actually give to God’s Word?
Friends, this is good news. There are actionable steps for cultivating our hearts. And this is work that requires diligence, perseverance, and patience. If we are not yet seeing the fruit of the seeds of God’s truths, we keep at it. Because the potential harvest is huge.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Where do you think you have each type of soil in your heart?
How can you practice being more honest with yourself, God, and others?
How can you behave today in ways that are noble and virtuous?
How can you intentionally hear more of God’s Word?
What would it look like for you to cling to God’s Word?
Where and how have you seen a harvest of God’s Word in your life? How patient did you have to be for that harvest?