Guarding Your Heart

As for what was sown on thin (rocky) soil, this is he who hears the Word and at once welcomes and accepts it with joy; Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary (inconstant, lasts but a little while); and when affliction or trouble or persecution comes on account of the Word, at once he is caused to stumble [he is repelled and begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey] and he falls away. Matthew 13:20-21 AMP

In today’s post, I am focusing on the rocky ground. Jesus explained that these are people who hear the message of the kingdom, but because they have rocks in their ground, when trials or persecution comes, they fall away, because they have not established a strong root system.

The typical way of preparing a garden would be to plow or till the ground in order to remove roots, rocks, etc. that would interfere with the growth of the plant. This is the person who has issues that have not been dealt with. Those issues would probably be something like unhealed hurts, roots of bitterness, rejection, unforgiveness, etc., that caused their hearts to become hard in some places.

Other issues is that they are inconstant, meaning inconsistent. I think this is where the enemy defeats a lot of people. It takes commitment and disciplining our flesh to make a regular habit of praying, worshipping and spending time in the word, even when things around us are crazy and busy. And it takes commitment to walk in instant forgiveness.

Another good point that the Amplified Bible brings out is that affliction, trouble, persecution comes on account of the Word. The enemy is out to steal the Word of God out of our hearts and cause us to be unfruitful because he knows that if we stay focused and refuse to get offended, we will produce a harvest for the kingdom of God.

The last part of the verse says that when affliction or trouble or persecution comes, at once he is caused to stumble [he is repelled and begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey] and he falls away. The word offended means to stumble or fall away. Many people not only become offended by others, they become offended at the Lord and turn away from Him. We need to realize that we live in a fallen world, people have a free will, and not everything that happens in this world is God’s fault or will. You may need to pray a specific prayer not only forgiving others who have hurt you, but forgiving the Lord and asking Him to forgive you for your unforgiveness and repenting for opening the door to the enemy in this way. When we receive mental and emotional healing, often it is like the layers of an onion coming off. It sometimes takes time for emotions to catch up with the choice we make with our will, but if you are persistent (you may need to pray this prayer over and over again, until all the bitter feelings leave), you will be healed.

Jesus said He came to bind up the broken hearted and heal their wounds. If you are struggling with past wounds, bitterness or unforgiveness, I encourage you to seek the Lord to heal you mentally and emotionally and help you forgive those who have hurt you. Forgiveness is not really for the other person, it is for you, so you can be freed up mentally and emotionally. The enemy will give us all plenty of reasons to be offended, so remember to guard your heart and seek to walk in instant forgiveness. God bless you all on your journey.

In Christ ~ Kelly Rowe