Are you one of those who respond to God’s promises as contained in His Word like you respond to advertorials on the news media? Does this question confuse you the more? Now listen, there’s an attitude by which we respond to advertorials: first, they catch our admiration by what we SEE, HEAR, and then our HEART believes it and determines to give it a try, isn’t it? After trying, if it works, then we exclaim “it’s REAL” on the contrary we exclaim: “its SCAM“. Now with regards to God’s promises, many of us have declared it SCAM when we ourselves (and our thoughts) are actually the scam! If you doubt this, read slowly (Isaiah 55:10-11)
“Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’”
And in Matthew 13:4-9
[Jesus says] ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
POINTS FOR REFLECTION
1. Through the Prophet Isaiah God describes his Word (or promises) using agricultural metaphors, and Jesus complements this with the parable of the sower, thus exposing the PROCESS of, and the REQUIREMENTS for the actualization of God’s promises in our lives.
2. The process isn’t automatic but a progressive one involving a Preparatory stage, Processing stage, and Harvest/Productive stage: described in agricultural principles of Land preparation, Planting, and Harvesting.
3. In all these stages the recipient of God’s blessing is required to be fully ACTIVE and HOPEFUL like the farmer who does not rest until after harvest time. His activeness involves Faith and good deeds (Jas.2:14-27) and his hope gives ascents to his faith as a substance of things hoped for and evidence of things unseen (Heb. 11:1).
4. Many after ‘seeing’, ‘hearing’ and believing in their ‘hearts’ give up in the process! They don’t remain ‘active’ and ‘hopeful’ until the end like the farmer but expect an automatic transformation as they encounter God’s Word; hence they say God’s word is a scam when in the true sense their thoughts scammed them!
TASK: Ask yourself: How am I contributing to the actualization of God’s promises in my life? Am I active and hopeful and determined to persevere to the end or have allowed my ‘heart to grow dull, my ears heavy of hearing and closed my eyes’ (Isa.6:10; Matt. 13:15) to the TRUTH?
