Seeds of Spring: A Woman's 40-day JourneySample

PREPARE THE SOIL

Read Luke 8:16-18.

Jesus is saying that there will come a day when nothing will be hidden; the condition of all of our hearts will be out in the open. But then it will be too late.

Take a moment to take what Jesus has said to your heart. Ask yourself, "How IS my heart responding to God's word?" This reminds me of when I was in first grade. I was easily distracted in class and didn't put all of my focus on my schoolwork. When I would receive a bad mark on my paper, I didn't want to bring it home. My teacher would put all of our papers in a folder on Friday afternoon. As I left school I would go through my folder and take out the papers that weren't perfect and throw them into the trash. I was afraid to have my mother see my mistakes. But at the end of the grading period the truth would come out. My little report card would reveal the truth! Thankfully I learned my lesson. I felt guilty for hiding the truth and deceiving my parents, and I didn't like getting a "U," for unsatisfactory, on my report card, so I repented of my ways!

You may never have hidden your papers from your mother! However, now you may be a bit distracted and not taking God's word seriously. You may be trying to hide the condition of your heart from the Lord and others. We all have a habit of looking around at others to measure how we are doing. We assess our godliness and obedience as if God were grading on a curve. He's not. We are afraid to have God see what our hearts are truly like. Don't be afraid. Tell Him you don't want to stand before Him one day and find out that you got a "U".

Better to look now. Ask the Lord for His grace to do what needs to be done. What might it mean? Change? Submitting? Giving up what you want to do?

Know that you are not walking this alone. There is no need to fear. There is no good in hiding. Call out to your Lord: "O Lord, have mercy. O Lord, I need your grace!" He will be all the strength and comfort that you need. Read Galatians 2:20.