Have you ever had an obstacle in your way that was keeping you from something very important?
Not long ago, my husband and our younger daughter were on a flight coming into Atlanta that had been delayed. By the time they landed, their next flight coming home was already boarding.
They became two of those people you see literally running through the airport trying to make it on the plane. (Our daughter said she’d always wanted to have that experience, but that once is enough!)
There were plenty of distractions and obstacles in their way. But their focus was on getting to that plane that would bring them home. And thankfully, they made it.
One of the key factors in our spiritual growth is spending time in God’s Word. Reading and studying our Bible teaches us about what God is like and how we can live our lives to please Him.
And while we might agree with the importance of being in God’s Word, it can be very easy to let other obstacles or distractions take the time or priority we want to give it.
Mark 4 gives us the parable of the sower and the seed. In verses 18 and 19, we read the meaning of what happens to the seed that fell among the thorns.
“And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”
Does this describe what happens to me? I’m afraid that it feels that way sometimes. When the Word of God isn’t producing fruit in our lives, it’s often because we’re allowing it to be choked out.
Let’s break the verse down to see three revealing things that “choke” God’s Word out of our lives.
1. Cares of this world.
There are many of these in our lives, aren’t there? This can be the day-to-day tasks we have, things like working, house cleaning, running errands, or taking kids to activities. All of these are good and necessary. But we don’t want to fill our lives with those and not leave ourselves time to read and meditate on the Bible.
We need to put habits in place that help ensure we get time in God’s Word. Whether it’s first thing in the morning, during a lunch break, or before we go to bed at night, we can schedule a specific time and place to read our Bible.
Then we have bigger cares that take us away from God’s Word. Often we have seasons of particular stresses and worries that we can’t control. Caring for a sick child or parent, more work than usual, or traveling may change our routine. We can allow those responsibilities to take over our thoughts and minds. Yet often that’s when we need more than ever to hold fast to our time in the Bible.
2. Deceitfulness of riches.
This reminds me of materialism. When our focus is on making money or accumulating possessions, we can ignore the necessity of grounding ourselves in God’s Word. In fact, we can be less likely to go to God for help and provision when things are going well for us than when we’re struggling.
If we think that being rich or buying what we want will make us happy, we’re deceived. However, it’s easy to get caught up in work and achieving success and allow our spiritual life to suffer.
3. Lusts of other things.
This category could include accomplishments for ourselves or our children. We have sports, hobbies, entertainment – the list of things to distract us from God’s Word can be quite long.
These things aren’t necessarily wrong unless we allow them to choke out God’s Word in our lives. Once again, it’s about making time with God a priority. Let’s not lose sight of the eternal value of having our hearts convicted and challenged by digging into what Scripture has to say.
I struggle with all of the above at times and need to ask the Holy Spirit for His help. We can see fruit produced in our lives as we pull out the weeds of these other things that might distract us from being in God’s Word.
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I have read items from your site many times. It is a great site!
Keep up the good/God work(s)!
Awww thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words!! That means a lot to me 🙂
Thank you for reading here and for taking the time to comment!