Have you ever thought of your heart as a bed of soil for the seed of God’s Word to grow? When better than spring—a time known for new growth—to consider the soil of our hearts? How well does it allow the word of the Lord to grow? Won’t you join me this week as we search for answers? You might be as surprised by what we discover!
Shallow Soil
“Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.”
Mark 4:5-6 NLT
Great evangelists seem to have a gift for delivering a message so passionate that it gets right down into your soul and compels you to respond. Sometimes it’s so soul-stirring that when the evangelist invites people to confess and repent of their sin, and profess their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, many do so eagerly and right away. They follow a lot of people down to the front of the stage or pulpit to publicly profess their conversion.
Then they’re off and running as a brand new baby-Christian! They just know everything is going to be great in their lives from then on. They’re promised heaven, not hell! There’ll be no more troubles because Jesus has fixed everything and they’re going to start doing everything right! They’re eager and happy to receive all of the promised blessings and assurances! So, they get busy doing the things that they think a Christian should do; trying to be the way a Christian should be!
But how long does that last before they can’t do it anymore? Sometimes the soil of our heart is not a resistant stone but a shallow surface. Read today’s Dose verse. The heart of a shallow soil grabs up the word with glee and forges ahead, but it only lasts temporarily, as long as no trials are presented. Mark 4:16-17 describes it this way, the seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.
The heart of shallow soil has no staying power because there is no deep planting of the seed. The word gets in just past the sand and rocky layer but not deep enough to hold strong roots for withstanding the challenges ahead. There’s no genuine change of heart through the Holy Spirit; everything’s based upon an emotionally charged feeling, generated from the passion of the preacher. This heart demonstrates a lack of grounding in the Word of God, discipleship, and mature Christian mentors. We try to do things in our own inadequate strength and we wilt under the pressure.
A shallow, superficial heart will not sustain the growth of the seed of God’s Word.
Are you working with a shallow heart today, Dear One? Don’t despair. Ask God to give you strong roots in His Word. He will.
Deepening shallow roots,
Rita