Day 15 of Illumination: Desire must be combined with preparation and obedience.

“The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Matthew‬ ‭13:23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Many women struggle with infertility. One of the causes of infertility can be something that is known as a “hostile” womb. Now, the womb can be hostile to conception by an imbalance in hormones, or a pH that is too acidic, or secretions that are either dried or of the wrong consistency. Additionally, immune response issues may come to bear on the likelihood of conception. Sadly, these immune responses by the mother can cause sperm or even an embryo or fetus to be attacked as an intruder. One such circumstance happened to me before I was born.

You see, my mother has Rh negative blood. Before me she had two babies with positive blood, with me being the third with positive blood. During the other two pregnancies my mother’s body had developed antibodies against positive blood, so that, when I came along, her body’s immune response saw my blood as being an invader. I have elaborated before on this, so suffice it to say, at birth all of my blood was removed and replaced with negative blood to stop the reaction my body was experiencing. The doctor said that even if I survived, the reaction probably had gone far enough to make me greatly impaired, if not vegetative. Of course, we know the Lord performed a miracle. But, my point here is that just because a woman is exposed to conditions for conception, doesn’t mean that she will indeed conceive. Additionally, once she has conceived, there are conditions that can keep the baby from fully developing, or cause harm in some other way. Sadly, we also know that some women choose to abort what is forming within them.

We have been talking about wanting to receive from the Lord. Yes, to receive the deep things of God. But, just the desire for that to be so is not enough any more than the desire for a successful pregnancy is enough when there are hostile factors involved. In order to receive and flourish in the things of God, we must prepare the soil of our hearts to receive, then feed what the Lord has planted.

“Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:2-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

F. F. Bosworth, an American Depression era faith healer, said this:

“Most Christians feed their bodies three hot meals a day, their spirits one cold snack a week, and then wonder why they are so weak in faith.”

I couldn’t agree with him more on this observation.

In our opening scripture we see Jesus explaining the parable of the sower. You are probably familiar with how some of the seed did not grow because it did not fall onto well-prepared soil. James gives good advice for the ways in which we can receive the word and have it flourish in our lives.

“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1:21-22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The fact is, the Lord can direct all kinds of wonderful knowledge, understanding, revelation, etc., toward us, but unless we are prepared to receive it, and willing to nourish it, it will not produce God’s nature within us.

We light a fifteenth candle of illumination today by knowing this:

Desire must be combined with preparation and obedience.

#25daysofillumination