I’m reading my way through the book of Luke in the Bible — a little bit each day. Today, I read a portion of Luke 8, and I thought I’d share some of the thoughts I had while reading.
Luke 8:5–8; 12–15 (The Passion Translation)
5 “A farmer went out to sow seeds for a harvest. As he scattered his seed, some of it fell on the hard pathway and was quickly trampled down and unable to grow and became nothing but bird seed. 6 Some fell on the gravel, and though it sprouted it couldn’t take root; it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Other seed fell where there was nothing but weeds. It too was unable to grow to full maturity, for it was choked out by the weeds. 8 Yet some of the seed fell into good, fertile soil, and it grew and flourished until it produced more than a hundredfold harvest, a bumper crop.”
12 The hard pathway represents the hard hearts of men who hear the word of God but the slanderer quickly snatches away what was sown in their hearts to keep them from believing and experiencing salvation. 13 The seed falling on the gravel represents those who initially respond to the word with joy, but soon afterward, when a season of harassment of the enemy and difficulty come to them, they whither and fall away, for they have no root in the truth and their faith is temporary. 14 The seed that falls into the weeds represents the hearts of those who hear the word of God but their growth is quickly choked off by their own anxious cares, the riches of this world, and the fleeting pleasures of this life. This is why they never become mature and fruitful. 15 The seed that fell into good, fertile soil represents those lovers of truth who hear it deep within their hearts. They respond by clinging to the word, keeping it dear as they endure all things in faith. This is the seed that will one day bear much fruit in their lives.”
Maturity is Found Rooted in God’s Love
Looking at verses 7 and 14, I wondered, how many times in life has that been me? I hear truth at church or in a self-help book or in a deep conversation with a friend and really think I’m locking it in and willing to walk the truth out. But then I go about my week and before I know it, worry is consuming my week — primarily worry about things that haven’t happened yet and may not happen at all. The cycle then repeats where I hear truth that calms the anxiety, but then I return with panic attacks and anxiety, and the process repeats over and over again. Looking at anxiety in this way explains why when my heart is operating like this immaturity is obvious and I lack fruitfulness. It’s like I’m watching a portion of a movie on repeat where I never get to journey with the creator to discover story prepared for me.
How do I get out of this cycle? How do I hear truth and not let it be choked out by anxiety? Ephesians 3:17 NLT says, “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” If I hear the word of God only to return to the cycle of anxiety, then I think it’s apparent, based on Ephesians 3:17, that I am not truly, completely rooted in God’s love.
Seeing Jesus in My Past, Present, and Future
How do I then become more rooted in God’s love? I have to know Him — not just know about him. I have to see him in my past, my present, and my future. This doesn’t mean that I abandon all responsibilities and read my Bible all day, and fast, and do lots of other things from a checklist, religious standpoint. No! I simply journey with Jesus everyday in the adventure of life.
Psalm 16:8–11 says, “8 I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. 9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. 10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. 11 You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”
Anxiety is Evidence I am Operating on My Own
I can’t help but connect these thoughts to a portion of Damon Thompson’s 12/13/20 podcast episode. Damon said, in relation to anxiety,
“Anxiety serves as a witness that we have maintained a perverted relationship with time… oftentimes where we stumble in the area of anxiety is concerning tomorrow. We watch movies that have not happened yet, and they always end tragically… We travel over into tomorrow, and we begin to ring our hands over something that has not happened and that usually will not happen. But anxiety has the impact on us that is oftentimes worse than if the thing had actually happened… If you were actually going through something tragic, there would be a measure of grace present for you to actually go through it. But [in] anxiety, you’ve traveled over into something that has not been actualized, then you didn’t have any grace with you to travel through that process; therefore, you are operating in a realm where it is illegal for you to be able to broker faith because you’ve stepped outside of grace because you’re not supposed to be thinking about tomorrow.”
Wow. I’ve got to take a minute to process this again.
Living in the Present with Sufficient Grace
I love to dream and dream big. Sometimes, I take wrong turns going to the same office I’ve worked from for years because I am dreaming, ideating, and envisioning the future. God speaks to us in visions and dreams. We’re even supposed to write down those visions, right?
I’ll admit though that in the past, I would get so excited that I would start trying to implement and bring the dream to pass in the present. It was almost as if I was saying, “Lord, thank you for this vision, I will get to work and let you know if I need anything!” The anxiety of taking ideas given to me by the Lord and implementing them myself in my own time and with my own resources nearly destroyed me. I was not present. I was living in the future. But there wasn’t grace for the future in the present.
For some reason, it is so easy for me to believe that God is Lord of the future, but in the moment, I often forget that he’s also the God of the present. Hebrews 13:8 TPT says, “Jesus, the Anointed One, is always the same — yesterday, today, and forever.” So if I can believe that Jesus was there for me in the past, and I believe in the dreams of the future, then I must believe he is with me today.
Throughout 2020, I’ve experienced my fair share of anxiety and panic attacks — even as recent as this last weekend. With so many opportunities to practice recognizing Jesus in the present, I’ve become more rooted in God’s love by reminding myself that Jesus is with me. In the moment of panic or worry, I stop, breathe, and envision Jesus standing in the room with me. If you think this is strange, remember that Hebrews 13:5 TPT says, “Don’t be obsessed with money but live content with what you have, for you always have God’s presence. For hasn’t he promised you, “I will never leave you alone, never! And I will not loosen my grip on your life!”
We don’t have to ask or beg him to come. And we aren’t in the moment alone or forsaken. Instead, we simply have to receive his presence because he’s already there.
