10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
(Isaiah 55:10–11, ESV)
When we have a long stretch of rain, we might conclude that this is a bad thing. However, when we think about it, we must conclude that we need rain. My mother used to speak of the spring showers like this, “April showers bring May flowers.” God has given us the rain for a purpose, to water the earth so that it will be fruitful. Without the rain, the ground would become a lifeless and barren wasteland.
In this passage of Isaiah, the Lord gives us an important promise. He states that the effect of the word of God is like the rain. It has a purpose and that it causes the bearing of fruit. He says the Word never returns empty. It always accomplishes the purpose for which God sends it. For us who have received the greatest mission, the Great Commission, this is an encouraging promise. God states that when we spread the gospel that we cannot fail.
Wouldn’t you like to do something in which you had the absolute assurance of success? Wouldn’t you like to do something in which you knew there was no possibility of failure? Well, God says that sowing the seed of His Word is one of those things. In fact, I do not know many things that we can do in life without any possibility of failure. So, why do we not sow the seed of God’s Word?
Many people do not sow the seed of God’s Word because of the fear of rejection or failure. They will say, “I have tried and people reject it.” However, these people misunderstand the mission. We are not responsible for the results of sowing the seed. We are only responsible for the sowing. God is sovereign over the results. We must rest in the assurance that God has a purpose for the Word that we sow. Are not His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9)? We need to readjust our thinking the mission. We are seed sowers. We trust that God has a purpose in every verse of Scripture sown. We trust that He will work out His grand purpose in it.
Others do not sow the seed of God’s Word because they do not know what to say or how to say it. This is not a good excuse since there are plenty of opportunities to learn how to share. Moreover, every person who has come to true faith knows the message of the gospel sufficient to share it to some degree. Everyone, whether trained or not, can share their own personal testimony, give someone a tract, or give them a Bible.
Still others find it difficult to sow the seed of God’s Word. For unknown reasons, everything seems difficult or forced. From my experience the aptitude for natural witnessing has to do with one’s closeness to the Lord, that is the depth of the person’s spiritual walk with the Lord. The closer we walk with the Lord the more natural our witness will be. In this way, sowing the seed will not need to be a constant battle of force, but rather a normal part of the Spirit filled walk.
Renewing the Heart 