Mark 4:19-20 NIV: “But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”
Each stage in life has its own worries that fall into financial, physical, and employment issues. They become hard distractions we must work through, pray about, and figure out God’s solutions. It reminds me of a woman I used to work with that would tell me she was taking a “mental day” for herself, meaning she couldn’t handle the stress of her job and needed to take a day off to refresh.
Jesus had just finished teaching and explaining a parable of the four soils to His disciples. These two verses are the ending of that parable.
The ESV words Mark 4:19 this way: “But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” The MSG states: “But are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard (from God’s Word), and nothing comes of it.” Look at these words: “about all the things they have to do . . .” Oh, I am so there! But then it ties it to “all the things they want to get.” It takes so much to provide for our family today. We all have necessities, needs, ambitions, and then there are our dreams that can turn into idols. Jesus was speaking about those that have a hard heart, or a shallow heart, or lastly, a crowded heart that smothered their growth and prevented a harvest.
It always goes back to one crucial question in each stage or season in our life that has its own “worries” – What is Jesus saying to me? Is there something He wants me to obey Him about? Do I trust that He is in control? Do I need a spiritual realignment? Am I guarding my heart and am I allowing anything to crowd out His voice in what He is wanting to teach me?
The disciples during Jesus’ time had the same problems we all face – they had concerns and had dishonest politicians known as the Herodians plotting to kill Jesus along with the Pharisees, and this was the community where they were all together. They also had to protect themselves from any false sense of security in any possible prosperity they might have achieved in their occupation of being fishermen.
“The key lesson here is not that doubt-free faith and prayer can bring great results. It’s that God can come through even when we doubt his ability to do so.”
“Our requirement is to step out in faith and do the right thing, whether it’s refusing to worship an idol, gathering for prayer despite the cause being lost, or any other act of obedience. That’s what God wants, and that’s what pleases him. After that, it’s up to him what happens next.” A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God. Spirituality For The Rest Of Us. Larry Osborne.
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