Mark 4 - 4.23.26

SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:1 - 8

“Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:  “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

OBSERVATION

The sower never stops sowing.

I am someone who loves when something works the first time.

I recently started gardening , making sourdough, and getting into getting good at my espresso machine at home. Post grad hobbies are getting crazy, I know. 

If there’s one thing about me, I love when I get things right, and am great at it the very first time. I am sure someone reading this can relate. So it is a bit funny that these three hobbies have been my past times of choice . . . Why? Because they are hobbies that require patience and persistence. 

Though I wanted an artisan sourdough loaf my first go, that is most definitely what I didn’t receive. Katie Thompson gave me sourdough baking advice that encouraged me similarly to the Lord’s encouragement in this passage, “just keep on baking and eventually you will get a great loaf.”

When reading this part of Mark 4, God highlighted to me how the sower did not quit when the seeds he had planted withered or were taken away. He kept sowing. I can imagine it is discouraging for the sower to see what he invested in his efforts that did not grow into what he really desired them to be. Similarly to us, we can get discouraged in our faith when we sow and we sow, but are eagerly anticipating a seed to take root so we can experience a bountiful harvest.

But we pray for that person and see no curiosity in Jesus.

Or we pray for healing and still see sickness or pain.

We pray for reconciliation and still have not gotten a call back.

We are sowing good seeds - so where is the harvest?

The key lessons that are taught here are to keep sowing & to have faith in God’s generous heart, which is the fertile soil we are promised.

Though some seeds have fallen to die and not grow, continue to sow as God has asked you because He desires to answer. . . Not in our timing but in His.

The sower did not stop sowing, he sowed and sowed and eventually saw a harvest produce that was abundantly more than he had ever seen or could have dreamed; never stop sowing. 

We must not stop sowing love, even if we face hate in return. 

We must not stop sowing faith, when all we feel is doubt.

We must not stop sowing forgiveness, when we experience hurt. 

Even if there is no harvest immediately, these are actions the word of God guides us into, and there is no part of the word of God that will ever return void to us. We must sow, as He calls us to do. We must be like this sower, who is devoted and committed to what is asked of Him.

God wants to use every seed we sow as a way to get closer to us and that may be in obscure timing to our flesh, but God’s plan and sense of time is divine, and greater than our own. Sowing seeds cultivates faith, it cultivates relationship with God through prayer to Him about things, and it is a foundational aspect to our lives as laborers for the kingdom. 

Though the harvest timing may not make sense now, keep sowing and leaning in, for the harvest is coming. And even when it does, we must praise, celebrate, and keep sowing. 

APPLICATION

Pause and tell God where you are sad or grieved that you are sowing and seeing no harvest, confess this to Him.

Now pause and ask God to walk you through a time where He showed a harvest that is more than you could have ever cultivated on your own. As He brings things to mind, write it down.

Ask God for delight as you sow, no matter what happens to the seed - ask for delight in the gift it is to sow seeds for Jesus.

Now, pray and intercede for that area you want to see a harvest in. Whether it be a person you want to come to know the Lord or a situation you need breakthrough in, petition Him. Know He is the fertilizer to the soil our seeds are being planted in.

PRAYER

God, hear our hearts and see our desires for a bountiful harvest that honors you. Where we need to sow, guide us. Where we need to remember a harvest, remind us. Where we need to confess and repent for our tainting of soil where seed needs nourishing, reveal that to us. Lord, we give you our yes to sow faithfully. Help us be patient in the process and enjoy the ride. We love you. 

Amen.

- Tess Schrupp