If the devil can't steal the Word out of your heart immediately, he will not give up trying. If he can't make you let go of it through persecution and afflictions, he still has three more weapons he will try to use against you.

And these are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
(Mark 4:18-19)

Consider The Source
The cares of this world come from looking at television news all day long. They come from reading all the daily newspapers, seeing all the problems in the world, and listening to all of the bad reports.

What happens when you pay attention to the cares of this world? The cares of this world become larger in your mind than the Word of God.

When there's not a sufficiency of God's Word in you, not enough roots to hold out against all this "stuff" you're taking in from the world, then the cares of the world will eventually outweigh the Word of God. They choke, block up, and stop the Word from bearing fruit and bringing results in your life.

The Word can also be choked by the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things. Riches are deceitful because they give the impression that they can provide all your needs.

God doesn't mind your having riches, but He doesn't want you to be deceived into thinking money can do everything. Money can buy a lot of things, but it can't buy everything.

Jesus said it's very difficult for someone who trusts in riches to enter into the kingdom of God (Mark 10:24). So if you expect money to keep you from having trouble, you're being deceived.

The Word can also be choked and made unfruitful in your life if you let the lusts of other things take up all your time and attention.

Remember, I said we must not neglect to pay attention to the Word of God. Whatever gets most of your attention and time will become the biggest part of your life.

Unless you spend more time in the Word than you do with other things, it will not develop roots and bear fruit in your life. And it's the devil's objective to choke the Word out of your life so that you don't get any results from it.

As Christians, it's important we are aware of how our enemy works. Because as my good friend Pastor Mac Hammond says, "If the devil can't deceive you, he can't defeat you!"

Source: How to Trouble Your Trouble by Creflo A. Dollar, Jr.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers