NOTHING WILL STOP IT!
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, my refuge and strength, thank you that there is nothing good that you withhold from me. Please use what you teach me in Scripture to build my confidence and trust in you.
Read MARK 4:26–34
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Are you tempted to think that God is more involved with your life when things are going well and that he might have forgotten you when things are difficult?Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) apparently said, ‘When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head,’* and the Puritans used to say something similar: ‘Providence is a soft pillow for anxious heads.’ Sometimes in life we might feel like everything is going well, there is no stress, we feel close to the Lord, and all is right in our world. But such times are usually fleeting and rare. Usually, all of us have a mixture of things going on.
In these parables of the kingdom, there is reassurance. In good times or bad, the kingdom of God is at work in the world, and also in us (v 27). It has taken root; it is growing like a seed, and it won’t stop (vs 31,32). Our sin can’t stop it; our good deeds can’t enhance it. Sometimes this growth feels good, sometimes it feels painful, but at all times we can know and trust that ‘… he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 1:6).
Apply
‘Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge. Take it to the Lord in prayer…’**
Closing prayer
Thank you, Lord, that you are always with me and at work for me—in the hard times as well as the good times—and that you use all things for my good and for your glory. Help me to persevere.
*Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David 1885
**‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’, Joseph Scriven 1855
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