Often, when God's people fail to experience the harvest to which they are entitled, they begin to wonder if God's Word truly works. If they're not careful, Satan will disillusion them, discourage them and if possible, cause them to wind up quitting, which is the wrong thing to do. Remember this: the worst thing you can do in a financial crisis is to quit giving. Giving is God's way of enabling you to overcome the financial crisis.
Recently, I've been hearing God say that we should believe Him for maximum results in everything we do. If there is a best, then don't settle for second best. Winning is wonderful, and there is no substitute for it. When I was growing up, I was a pitcher on a baseball team. I remember my coach making this statement, "It's not whether you win or lose, boys, it's how you play the game." I didn't like that mind set then, and I don't like it now. I later found out that if you play the game right, you will win. I like winning, praise God, and I'm confident that you do too.
Since I became a Believer back in 1969, I have strived for God's best. If God wants me to live in divine health, then why settle for healing from time to time? Healing is wonderful, but divine health is better. If God's Word says that I should have more than enough, then why live from paycheck to paycheck? I like financial miracles, but I like abundance better. I like the scripture where God said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8, "You shall lack nothing, and there shall be no shortage." Well, if God has a way for us to enjoy abundance then why settle for anything less?
In Mark 4:3-4 (AMP), Jesus wants us to pay very close attention to what He is about to say. So, He says, "Give attention to this. Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up." This man has sown seed, but the birds consumed it; therefore, his seed produced no harvest. Now this tells me that there is the possibility that even though we are sowing, some of our seed can be consumed and not produce a harvest. So, let's find out why. As we read further in Mark 4, we see the same man sowing seed again. Verse 5 says, "Other seed (of the same kind) fell on ground full of rocks, where it had not much soil, and at once it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil, And when the sun came up, it was scorched, and because it had not taken root, withered away." Notice, the seed did what it was supposed to do. The seed doesn't know anything else but grow, increase and multiply. You can put a seed under a rock, and it will try to push that rock up.
So far, we've got this one man sowing much seed but no harvest - the birds consumed it, and the sun scorched it. In other words, he's sowing, but he's not reaping. I want you to understand that there is nothing wrong with the seed. There is nothing wrong with the spiritual law that the seed operates by. God made those laws.
Many times, the first thing we want to do when we're not getting the kind of return on our sowing that we are entitled to is question God's integrity or we question the validity of His Word. "Well, I tried it and it didn't work". Then we go from there and begin to question the sincerity of the messenger who taught us the Word. So God, His Word, and the messenger get the blame for our failures.
We learned that from Adam. When Adam failed, He could not accept the blame, so He blamed God and Eve. He said, "I was doing fine until you made her - and besides that, I was asleep when you made her - if you'd have asked me, I could have told you how to make her, so don't blame me, its not my fault."
Everybody is pointing the blame somewhere else. When was the last time you asked somebody, "How did you get in this mess?" And they said, "ME! It's, all my fault?" We have a hard time accepting the blame - but that's where the blame is. Quit blaming God, quit blaming His Word, and quit blaming the messenger who brought you the Word. Investigate your own life.
Mark 4:7 goes on to say, Other seed (of the same kind) fell among thorn plants, and the thistles grew and pressed together and utterly choked and suffocated it, and it yielded no grain. Now this is the third time this man has sown, yet he's received no results. The birds consumed it, the sun scorched it, and now the weeds are choking the seeds. Finally, in verse 8 it says, "And other seed (of the same kind) fell into good (well adapted) soil, and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing, and yielded up to 30 times as much, and 60 times as much, and even 100 times as much as had been sown. He's finally getting results.
I know in some cases we would welcome thirty fold. It's better than no fold. And sixty fold is something to shout about; but notice, other seed produced a 100-fold, or in other words - maximum results. Why not strive for maximum results in every seed that we sow? I believe that it's time we quit wasting our seed and begin to believe for God's best.
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Ministries