August 09, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Planting and Watering…"
Isaiah 55:10-11
New International Version
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: I will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Do you know that singular frustration of trying to teach the gospel to those who don't seem to care? Have you spent hours telling the story of Jesus or having Bible studies with friends and neighbors without apparent result? Countless sermons, religious tracts, and pleading conversation shave simply gone unheeded. And for what? Has it all been a waste of time? Few, if any, true believers would actually say they had wasted their time unsuccessfully teaching others, but-as with any enterprise-there is a temptation to give up. Call it the law of diminishing returns. Butting our heads against the wall certainly gets old. And yet if we believe anything at all, it is that God's Word itself tells us God's Word is never wasted!
For one thing, we might wrongly assume we've gotten no results. Who knows whether those we have taught might yet turn to God-perhaps after we are long gone? Or maybe the fruits of our efforts will even skip a generation, with the children being converted to Christ because of something we have said to their parents. Testimonies of believers often speak of just a brief word of encouragement-perhaps by a complete stranger-that put them on the road to faith. "Who converted you?" "I don't even know her name!" The obvious moral of the story is that we should never give up for lack of obvious results. As Scripture tells us, our job is simply to plant the Word along the way or to water seeds already planted. Of course there's not much pride in merely planting and watering...which might just be the whole point!
The frustrating question is: Have I been more focused on "winning souls" than simply sharing the good news with everyone I meet?
