“1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:

3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Mark 4:1-9
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Every time we read this parable, we are in a season where we need to determine what soil our hearts are made from. We cannot read over this, call it ‘familiar’ or ‘old hat’ and forget to apply the parable to ourselves. “Am I being pliable for the sake of God? Am I seeking Him out? Am I consumed with worldly things? Am I being choked by weeds? Where am I? What is the condition of my heart?”

We need to have ears to hear, not just intellects to acknowledge. It is not enough to look at Scripture and say “Yes, I understand that.” We must seek God’s wisdom for application. Honestly, my heart is pretty rocky today. I have a lot going on in my mind and in my heart that I need to give over to God, but the stubbornness of my sin is putting up a pretty good fight right now. I am trying not to be hard hearted right now, and honestly, it’s been a bit of a battle. I am getting tired of seeing people let the enemy win in their lives, to see fickle, petty hearts at work rather than the glory of God in their lives. I cannot change their minds. I cannot take away the fear or jealousy or whatever it is they’re dealing with, but I can be sick and tired of the enemy having footholds in people’s lives. And so my heart is on the defensive…and that makes it really difficult to be open to listen and be ready to receive.

And so I must repent.
I want to.
I need to.
But I don’t have the strength on my own.

And so I must come to surrender first. If I want my heart to be soil that is productive, then I must have a heart that can be torn open like fresh soil, turned over, pliable and fertile because the Spirit has been given the opportunity to water, and the Word has had opportunity to feed.

I am going to be doing _a lot_ of praying this week. Offering up myself, offering up these individuals and families, making phone calls, sending emails and setting up appointments. I can fight the good fight and not have a hard heart at the same time, and I need to let God do that work in me so that I am thoroughly equipped.

I suggest you do the same & please join me in mine.