Are we planting it before we pass it?

"But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold..."

(Luke 8:8)

A few weeks ago, while at our Siesta event in Houston, Beth Moore made a statement that has taken up residence in my mind and caused me to really give it some serious thought lately. She simply said the following:

"You have to plant it before you can pass it"

It doesn't seem like a real profound statement, but when you really settle in on it and think it through, it is SO profound! She is speaking about the Word of God - perhaps even a word from God. A rhema word.

There are times when we hear what we believe to be a good word. And we are so eager to tell others all about it. We just can't wait to share with others what we have heard. Because we 'heard a good Word!"

It can be an encouraging word or just an intriguing word, but when we simply pass it on or pass it down the line, we haven't done anything but just pass it. We haven't allowed it to settle deep in our spirits. We haven't allowed it be planted in us. We haven't allowed it to change us.

Sometimes we are even guilty of thinking that perhaps that word is for somebody else. Anybody else. Someone we know that NEEDS that word. Amen?

Truth of the matter is, most likely it was a word that we could certainly apply to our own lives. A word that needed some soil to take root in. And some water - perhaps our tears - to help it grow. A word that needed to be planted and nurtured and show signs of taking root before we could  pass it down to another person.

It needed to become a testimony of sorts in our lives so that we could give witness to the truth and depth of the Word. So we could give credence to what God was showing us.

When we hear a word that is convicting, I think that sometimes we are quick to pass it because then we feel like we aren't admitting that it was a much needed Word in our own lives. If we want to become effective in the body of Christ, we have to start in our own spiritual lives. We have to begin with 'us'.

We need to be digging deep into the scriptures. We need to be seeking Him above all else. We need to be hearing the gospel message preached. Hearing a good Word. Applying it to our lives. Packin' it down with well-watered soil and allowing it to grow.

Then and only then can we become effective doers of the Word. Then we can confidently pass what we have gleaned. Then we can being to see God really start to work and move in our lives.

We need to pass it -  that is for sure - but let's make sure that first of all, we know what we are passing.

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Lord, help me to not only hear a good Word, but to let it soak in my spirit and apply it deep into my own life. Then Lord, help me to be able to pass it with a genuine testimony of what a powerful Word it was and can be in the lives of others. I love you Lord, and I desire to be nothing less than a true instrument for Your glory.

In Him,