…Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Mark 4:15

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. John 10:10

“You are being robbed.”

I could hear the voice in my head as clearly as if it were audible.  Yesterday I was having my morning “quiet time” with God, my Bible and a cup of coffee.  I’ve been reading through the gospels recently and I was in Mark 4 where Jesus gathered a crowd and taught them the parable of the sower.  Now, I had already read that parable a couple of weeks ago in Matthew 13. A lot of the gospels repeat the stories of Jesus; so I wasn’t particularly expecting any new insights. But I was wrong.

In the parable, Jesus describes 4 different kinds of soil- hard soil, stony soil, thorny soil and good soil, and their response to the seed, which is the word of God. In two of the three types of poor soil there’s something that keeps the seed from being productive- stones and thorns hinder the plant. But in the first type of soil there’s Someone stopping the seed from being productive.  And what arrested my attention yesterday was Jesus’ commentary on this first type of soil.

… some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. (emphasis mine)

It’s not, people just naturally forget the seed.  Or the seed sits there unheeded until it kind of rots or blows away.  No, Satan actively comes and deliberately steals the seed.  He robs from people the blessing that God desires to bestow. Wow.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been in a bit of a malaise.  I wouldn’t exactly call it depression; more like a bit withdrawn and shut down.  One day seems to run into another as I do a limited set of activities- work, eat, sleep, take a walk, read, whatever.  I’m not really in touch with my heart.  I’m not super engaged with the kids.  I haven’t started any new projects in a while, even though there are many things I could be doing.  I’m not particularly innovative or seizing new opportunities. Things are passable, functional, tolerable, but I know I’m stuck. I feel like I’m just idling when I could be making progress. Things are blah.

Up until now, I’ve been attributing this to our current situation. Well, of course, I feel this way.  Look at the world situation. Everything has been put on hold, social interaction is limited, everything has been disrupted.  All of our worlds have shrunk to home, grocery shopping and if you’re lucky, work.  Options are limited. No wonder life has grown monotonous and monochromatic. That’s understandable, right? But what if there’s more to it than that?

“You are being robbed.”

What if the Enemy is at work?  I don’t think it’s just the instability of the present or the uncertainty of the future that’s causing my malaise.  In the parable of the sower, Satan is right there, to snatch away God’s blessing. Like a hungry crow gobbling up seed, Satan seeks to blunt our senses, blind our eyes, and limit our impact.  When God would do his best work, the Enemy is there to steal, kill and destroy.

“I’m being robbed!”

I’m being robbed of joy.  I’m being robbed of opportunity.  I’m being robbed of impact and potential and LIFE.  Not because of the pandemic but how I’m responding in the midst of it.  Satan is using current circumstances as a cover to hide his age-old agenda.  He’s a thief and he wants to rob me of life. And if I let him, he’d even rob me of my confidence in God.  This social distancing and sheltering in place is no passive exercise.  There’s a battle going on here.  But I’ve been unaware.  I’ve been lulled into complacency. And I’ve been robbed.

Jesus said,

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. Matthew 24:33

Someone is trying to rob you. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Know this, the Enemy is active and he hates life.  He hates vibrancy.  He hates fullness and abundance. And if you do nothing, he will rob you blind and you won’t even know it. Guard against it.  Go to war against it.

Let’s spit in his eye.  Let’s shake ourselves and reclaim what’s rightfully ours- love, joy and peace.  Let’s seize this moment for the kingdom of God.  Let’s stir ourselves to love deeply, give selflessly, and live courageously.

I’m tired of being robbed!