“The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.” (Matthew 13:22 NLT)
Do you ever worry? Do Pugs love to eat? Dumb question, huh? But I have a word from the Lord! Satan may hound you to worry, but you can be free from worry by placing your complete trust in Jesus. Worry is, at its core, a lack of trust in the Person or promises of God. To worry is to believe either that God isn’t Sovereign, or that you are. Both are lies from the pit of hell.
Thorns, as seen in the verse above, manifest themselves in our lives in essentially one of two primary ways: either we worry about things pertaining to our life – i.e. family, work, health, friends, the world, or a thousand other things. We NEVER have a shortage of things about which to worry. But another avenue of worry is “the lure of wealth.”
This is something that seems to trap almost everyone at some point in our lives. It’s that desire to have “more,” whatever that may look like for each of us. More material things, more love, more opportunities, more pleasure, more excitement, more challenge, more ____________! It can be a trap because God’s desire is for us to have more. . . more of HIM!
That’s a familiar strategy of the enemy, to have us desire something that seems right, that seems that it might be something the Lord would want for us, but we’re so easily misled. We confuse what God wants for us for all the things we want for ourselves, most of which wouldn’t draw us closer to the Lord but push us further away.
The lure of wealth and the worries of life are among the many things that stir in our heart and mind that draw us inward to the satisfaction of our own desires, rather than to draw us ever more closely to the Lord. But in that seeming endless process of seeking self-satisfaction, we miss the joy of dependence upon and fulfillment in our relationship with the Lord Jesus.
Justin Talbert wrote: “Instead, joy is uncovered on the thorn-ridden trail of self-denial, self-forgetfulness, sacrificial love. When Jesus cements two sinners together, He says, ‘Your joy is now linked to theirs.’” So, God’s antidote to worry is “self-denial, self-forgetfulness, and sacrificial love,” among prayer, finding strength in God’s Word and in vital fellowship with others whose center and focus is also on the Lord Jesus.
Worry can be so worrisome because it can be couched in genuine concern but is revealed when our “concern” becomes more self-focused than God-focused. What does that mean? It means we begin to “count the cost” of what OUR concern is going to look like. We may have a sick child or spouse and, of course, we have concerns for them, but then OUR concern spills over into: “But when is he/she going to get back to work? We need their income!” Or “What if the insurance doesn’t cover all our expenses?” Or ___________________ and you can fill in the blank.
The reason the Lord allows the thorns in our lives isn’t to defeat or destroy us, but to turn our thoughts to Him, to help us learn to depend upon and trust Him, never to exasperate us to the point of a mental breakdown.
Our loving Shepherd knows our every need before we ask. He anticipates EVERY need before He allows the “thorn” in the first place. He shapes and designs everything that touches our life to help us grow in exactly the way or ways we need to grow in order to see Him more clearly, love Him more deeply, and serve Him more fruitfully and effectively.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 