“The shallow, rocky soil represents the heart of a man who hears the message and receives it with real joy, but he doesn’t have much depth in his life, and the seeds don’t root very deeply, and after a while when trouble comes, or persecution begins because of his beliefs, his enthusiasm fades, and he drops out” (Matthews 13:20-21) The Living Bible
We may see a car, home or a mate disappear from our lives. Know for sure that before these subtractions became reality, your heart was attacked first.
Was the attack subtle? Absolutely. Can the attack be identified? Absolutely.
For example: You haven’t resolved issues at home with your mate and with that frustration; you start noticing someone at work. Before you know it, you are doing nice things for them – leaving notes of encouragement, sharing a bag of chips. The next thing you ask your co-worker to join you in a business lunch – just to talk about work. The relationship escalates from there. At your lowest moment, satan messed with your heart when the situation at home needed attention. Your flesh took over after that.
Here’s another example: You never understood the tithe so you reasoned that it doesn’t make sense to set aside 10% to give to someone else when you can’t pay your bills. You don’t tithe and that means you rob from God’s storehouse. God cannot give you increase when you take His portion – it’s a spiritual law and the adversary knows it. satan got your heart when you didn’t seek God about the tithe. God always has a plan to get you out as debt as long as your heart is obedient to each necessary step. The only requirement God has is to never turn from His Word, your blueprint for life.
When God’s best is not present in our lives, that condition can ALWAYS be traced to our relationship with Him. We must know our heart condition at all times and line up our lives with God’s Word. When our hearts are sensitive to Him, we will know the subtle approaches of the enemy.
PRAYER
Father, help us to know that our problems can be resolved and eliminated as we focus on our relationship with You. The more time we spend with You, the more our hearts will be conditioned to know the difference between a lie and truth. Amen.
Read more articles by Betsy Cobb Wise or search for articles on the same topic or others.
