God cultivates deeply for a great harvest. So don’t think of this as a bad thing. God is getting ready to do great things in your life.
Mark 4: 2-8 And Jesus taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And another fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
Jesus taught the people in language they could understand by using examples of everyday things they worked with. So no matter their occupation, they could understand His teachings.
The principal grains during Bible times were wheat and barley. But they didn’t have modern machines that could take on the brunt of the work. Because of this, they spent much time getting the land ready to plant.
The first time they plowed, the plow would only scratch the surface of the ground a few inches. It would be plowed many more times before it would be ready to plant seeds.
The time of plowing for some crops began with the early rains in September or October and continued until March. The field was plowed from several different angles to be sure it was broken up.
Then it was gone over with a wooden harrow. A harrow is a large wooden timber or heavy piece of wood with nails or spikes sticking out the bottom. As it was dragged, it helped to level the field. And it also made sure the top layer was broken up good for planting.
When a field was cleared for the first time, there were stones and thorns that had to be removed. If the thorns were left, they would suck up much of the moisture the crop needed to thrive.
God has a plan for your life. So He takes as much time as He needs to plow and cultivate your field. He does it over and over so ultimately your seed will achieve maximum yield.
This is not usually a fun process from your perspective. God is removing spiritual thorns and rocks that will keep your seed from producing the best crop.
It is not fun to have sin uncovered in your life that you might have hidden away, or didn’t even know was there.
According to verses 5-7, some of the seed fell upon ground that was not prepared well enough to receive and nourish it. So it sprouted quickly, but withered away just as quickly.
Some areas were not prepared to receive the seed at all. So those seeds never sprouted.
The next few verses describe the different yields of fruit that sprang up from the good soil.
The seed sprang up some 30-fold, some 60-fold, and some 100-fold.
The farmer didn’t mind spending all the time he needed to break up and cultivate. He knew that the yield of his crop was directly related to how much the soil had been prepared before planting the seed.
And the ground would have to be prepared very well for the seed to yield 100-fold. None of the farmer’s time was wasted in plowing the field.
This is why there is usually a waiting period from the time God calls you to do something until the time it actually comes to pass.
He calls you, and then He prepares you to walk in that calling.
He is continuously tilling, plowing, and removing stones and thorns until the soil is perfect for planting seeds and creating a great harvest.
After planting the seeds you then wait for them to sprout. Then there is more waiting for the crop to grow to full maturity. All this must happen before there can be a plentiful harvest.
You may feel that you have heard God speak, and have obeyed. And you feel like you are in limbo and can’t see anything good happening. But God is always working even when you can’t see Him.
He is busy working to remove all the hindrances that could keep Him from using you to impact those around you.
The Bible says that you will always reap what you sow. So make sure to sow good seeds and you will reap a reward that is greater than you ever expected.
It may be different than you thought. But when you learn to trust God, you know He loves you so much that He never wants you to settle for anything less than His Best. God cultivates deeply for a great harvest.
Satan, on the other hand, will try to get you to settle for good or even very good. He knows there is a big difference between very good and God’s Best.
