Years ago, before one of our Night of Hope events, I was walking around the baseball stadium and surprised to see birds covering the outfield grass. I was told that in order to fix the daily wear and tear and keep the grass thick and lush, the maintenance crew went out every day to throw grass seed, which brought the hungry birds. Despite the bird problem, the grass stayed beautiful because the abundance of sown seed was greater than the consumption of the birds.

We all have areas of our life that we want to see grow and flourish, but you may have some significant wear and tear going on. Sometimes it seems impossible to move forward. We start to save money toward a house down payment, but then our car breaks down or an appliance dies unexpectedly and the expenses eat up all those savings. Or maybe we wanted to renew our relationship with God, so we started spending time with Him and going back to church, but then someone there said something that offended us and put us off.

In Matthew 13, Jesus told the Parable of the Sower who went out to sow his seed in the field. Any seed that fell along the walking path remained on the surface and was eaten by the birds. But Jesus also talked about seed falling on good soil and producing an amazing crop of grain. He didn’t mention the birds coming and eating some of the seed there, though I’m sure they did. He wanted us to see that if we keep receiving the seed of God’s Word and keep the soil of our heart good, that seed is going to take root and grow. He’s saying, “Don’t look at the birds; look at the seed of My Word. The seeds I am sowing will outlast any birds, any setbacks, any trials, any difficulties that you face. Just keep your soil fertile with praise and thanksgiving. Keep out the hardness, the rocks, the weeds and thistles. Keep doing what’s right, keep going to church, keep reading the Word, and keep praying. You won’t be disappointed. I’ll crown your efforts with success.”

There will always be birds trying to steal our seed. Just receive more of God’s seed than they can eat. Our God, the Creator of the universe, can open doors supernaturally. He can cause your finances to go further. He can cause things to happen that you’ve never dreamed possible. Be determined and say, “I’m not going to focus on the problems. I’m focusing on the fact that my God is able to take the seed sown and do more than I can ask, think, or imagine.”