January 3, 2024

A footpath. Wow, this hit me hard today. Jesus is talking about how God is trying to plant His seeds in the hearts of people. God wants to do NEW things in people’s lives—GOOD things. He wants to bring us healing. He wants to bring us forgiveness. He wants to help us break free of chains that bind us and patterns of behavior that are destroying us. God wants to deposit His Divine Gifts into us to change our lives into something BETTER, something MORE, something HOLY. But sometimes our hearts are as hard as footpaths. So, His Word doesn’t get in.
I’ve been like that before. Have you? Have you ever been at a place where you didn’t want to hear from God because you knew what He was going to talk to you about? Have you ever had something in your life that you knew shouldn’t be there, but you kept shrugging God off because you just didn’t want to let it go? Have you ever had an attitude that you knew you needed to change but every time the Holy Spirit started to talk to you about it, you would turn away or get busy doing something else so you wouldn’t have to listen to Him? God is constantly scattering seeds. He is constantly speaking to us, nudging us, and drawing us to Himself. But sometimes we just refuse to receive it. We have the Footpath Disease. Our hearts are just closed to what God wants to do.
In verse 14 of this story, Jesus describes the Footpath People as those who “don’t understand.” Sometimes people just can’t grasp that God can truly forgive them. Sometimes they can’t believe that God can truly help them. Sometimes people can’t understand how much better, how much brighter, and how much more fulfilling and satisfying their lives can be if they’ll let God in to have His way. So, they become Footpath People whose lives miss out on what God wants to do.
How hard is YOUR heart today? Do you have some things you know God wants to talk to you about, but you’re too afraid, too angry, or too proud? Do you find yourself not wanting to hear from God because you’re scared of what He might want to say or what He might want you to do? Hear me again. God wants to help you. He wants to heal you. He wants to free you. He wants to bring peace to your life and rest to your soul. Don’t suffer one more day from Footpath Disease. Confess your hard-heartedness to God, and let His Spirit till the soil of your heart into a place that’s ready to receive what God wants to do. Then God will change you from Footpath to flourishing! That’s God’s Word for you today.