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“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables” (Matthew 13:35).

Jesus taught in parables. One of them is about a farmer and what happened to his seeds as he was spreading them to plant. Through the parable, Jesus told about four types of soil and what happened when the seeds fell on them:

1. Some seeds fell by the side of the road and were soon snatched away by birds.
2. Some seeds fell on stony ground, where there was some soil. The seeds began to grow, but they soon wilted and died.
3. Some seeds fell among thorns that choked the seeds so they couldn’t grow.
4. Some seeds fell on good soil, where they took root, grew, and produced.

The disciples wondered what Jesus was talking about, so He explained the parable. He compared seeds to the “the word” (the words Jesus spoke and God’s written Word, the Bible); and He compared different kinds of ground to people’s hearts.

1. The wayside ground are the hearts of people who hear the Word, but Satan immediately takes it away (Matthew 13:19). (It goes in one ear and out the other!)
2. The stony ground refers to people who hear the Word and seem to accept it, but their hearts never change. Then when something happens that those people don’t like, they begin to doubt God, and the faith they seemed to have goes away.
3. The ground with thorns are people who hear the Word and seem to believe it. But their hearts are full of the things of this world—like having money and things, having fun, and satisfying themselves. They don’t have time for Bible reading, studying, and memorizing or going to church or praying or obeying and serving God.
4. The good soil are the hearts of people who hear the Word, receive it, and bear fruit. These people continue believing, receiving, desiring, and spreading God’s Word.

Jesus told a parable about a sower (farmer) so people could understand how human beings react to hearing God’s Word, the Bible.

My response:
» What kind of “soil” are my heart and mind?
» If I have “good soil” and accept God’s Word, am I growing in the Word and being faithful to God?

“Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13–14).

Nobody cares about me! Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever said it? It’s easy to feel like nobody cares when we are going through a hard time. Maybe you aren’t doing well in school or your parents fight a lot. Maybe you or a family member is sick and you are worried that things won’t get better. So many things can cause us to feel like we are all alone and that nobody cares about us.

No matter how we may feel during these hard times, Psalm 103:13–14 reminds us that the LORD always cares about us. God is compassionate! That means He understands what you are going through and He wants to help you. God, Who created us, understands us better than we understand ourselves. Since He made us and understands us so well, He is the perfect loving Father, Who helps us during hard times.

How does God help us? After all, we can’t see Him with our eyes or hear His voice with our ears or actually touch Him. One way God helps us is to answer our prayers when we remind ourselves of His promises and pray them back to Him. For example, in Hebrews 13:5 God promises Christians that He will never leave them. Remember Hebrews 13:5 if you are feeling lonely. If you are afraid, remember that God tells us in Isaiah 41:10 to not be afraid because He is with us and will hold us safe with His hand. During these hard times, pray to Him and tell Him all about what is bothering you. He wants you to talk to Him. Then remind yourself of what you know from God’s Word is true about God, and pray that back to Him. For example, “LORD, I feel like nobody cares about me right now. But I know that isn’t true because 1 Peter 5:7 tells me to give You all of my cares because You care for me. Help me to remember that You care for me when l am feeling lonely today.”

God may also help by sending us someone who can comfort us or give us what we need. Have you ever heard of the Good Samaritan? In Luke 10:30–35, Jesus tells a story about a man who had been robbed and left for dead. God sent a Samaritan man to help that poor man when he needed help. God knows our needs and may send us just the right person at just the right time to help us! So you have nothing to worry about, no matter what you are going through.

God is our compassionate (understanding, caring) and loving Father, Who wants to help us.

My response: When I feel like nobody cares, do I seek help and compassion (sympathy) from God, my Father?

“And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth” (1 Kings 18:1).

God had a special plan for Elijah, just as He has a special plan for you. The people of Israel had disobeyed, so God was punishing them. At the same time, God was also training Elijah. Then God sent Elijah to King Ahab with a message: God was going to send a drought because of the king’s wickedness—there would be no rain for a long time.

After Elijah delivered this terrible news, he went out of the country to stay by a brook called Cherith. While he was there, ravens brought him food twice a day, but only enough for one meal at a time. Elijah drank water from the brook until one day it dried up! What was Elijah to do? He trusted God, Who provided a different way for him to get food. Elijah traveled to a town, where he met a widow. God supplied enough food for Elijah, the widow, and her son by causing her bottle of oil to never run out until God sent rain again.

God always gave Elijah what he needed. God was teaching Elijah to trust Him. Because Elijah was willing to do what God said, God used Elijah to show all the people of Israel that God alone was the one, true, living God.

God wants to use the everyday events in your life to prepare you. How are you responding? Are you choosing to read your Bible every day, or do you allow other things to become more important? When circumstances don’t seem to make sense or are hard for you to understand, do you trust God, knowing He will provide everything you need? Just as God used Elijah to bring glory to Him, He wants to prepare you now and use you for future work. Be faithful and obey all God asks you to do!

God has a plan for my life and is preparing me for His service as I trust and obey Him.

My response:
» Am I willing to trust and obey God today?

“Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies . . . Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people.” (Psalm 3:7–8).

Have you ever looked up at a magnificent sunset and thought about the God Who painted all those colors across the sky? Have you ever wondered what a skilled artist God must be? He created the whole universe, all by Himself! He is the One Who invented color! He chose the designs and patterns that we see in all the many kinds of animals, all the types of trees and flowers, all the unique faces in the crowds of people in every city. Not only that, but God has passed along some of His amazing creativity to human beings. Just think of all the talented musicians, artists, writers, craftsmen, engineers, architects, and teachers who do their work with such skill and imagination. They all do different things and have different gifts, but God thought up all of them. God gave those people what they have. What an amazing Creator we have!

We can look at creation and believe by faith that it comes from God. We can look around us or look up at that magnificent sunset and say, “That is God’s handiwork. God did it!” But do you ever think about what God is still doing, or what other gifts come from Him? For example, we have to look at the gospel of Christ and say, “That’s God’s work! God did this.” Only someone as creative and all-powerful as God could think up the plan of redemption and carry it out.

Only God could come in human form, live a perfect life, die to save sinners, and rise again after spending three days dead in a tomb! Only God can give us the understanding and the faith we need to believe what His Word says about salvation. What a wonderful, creative God we have; He created us, and only He can save us!

In Psalm 3, King David is giving a testimony in song about how he called upon the Lord and realized that only the Lord could save him when he was in trouble. Once he realized that, David said (Psalm 3:6) that he would not be afraid even of thousands and thousands of people, because he trusted God. God saves. He is the source, the beginning, of all salvation. Are you trusting God’s salvation today?

God is the One Who saves.

My response:
» Do I ever get the idea that I can “earn” salvation all by myself?
» How can I show my faith that salvation comes from God?