For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:11

I want to ask you a simple, yet vulnerable question: How open is your heart to the words and seeds that God wants to plant in you? You see, this can be a very difficult question to answer because we often respond too quickly with: “I’m absolutely, for sure, 100% open to God’s word, plan, and seeds He wants to plant in my heart!” On the outside those words might fall off your tongue, but is that really the deeper condition, maturity, and openness of your heart?

Jesus used the Parable of the Sower to describe the openness of a heart to His word, plan, and purpose. A sower went out to scatter seed, but some fell on a path, some on rocky places without much soil, others among thorns, and finally some on good soil. In this story, the seed is God’s words, plans, and purpose for our lives. Each type of soil could receive the seed, but not all of them allowed the seed to take root and reach its full potential.

You see, our heart is the battleground of our faith. Everything that we believe and hold onto is rooted within our hearts. If your heart is hardened like a well-worn path, rocky and without much soil, or filled with the thistles and thorns of life, you will never reach the full potential that God has for you. It’s when we put in the work of prayer, worship, get plugged into the local church, and serve those around us that we begin to loosen up the old ground to make way for the His word, His seed, His plans, and His purpose for our lives.

This week, let’s reflect on the condition of our hearts. Let’s go even further and put in the intentional time to make our hearts ready to receive from Him.