Leading The Way - Devotional for March 30

March 30, 2026 

Don’t Choke the Word

By Michael A. Youssef, Ph.D.

Yesterday, we looked at two types of soil that Satan targets. Today we will look at the third.

The third type of soil that Satan targets is the spoiled soil. “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). 

Here, the problem isn’t so much the soil; this soil is not hard and compacted nor shallow and superficial. Rather, the problem is the competing seeds that Satan has tossed into the mix—the thorns (see v. 7). How can God’s seeds grow and flourish when the choking plants of busyness, material ambition, and anxiety overwhelm the crop? Satan delights in getting us preoccupied with anything that will sap our energy and hinder our efforts to stay attuned to the Lord’s will and to minister in His name. Our enemy works overtime to get us to set up idols in our lives—idols that will destroy the joy of the Lord, smother our witness, and demolish our testimony.

But then Jesus encourages us: “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23). This fertile soil belongs to those who vigilantly protect the seeds of God’s Word from hardened hearts, shallow faith, and thorns of distraction. 

What type of soil are you? Has your heart been hardened and untilled for so long that the seeds of God’s Word just bounce away? Is your soil rocky and shallow because you have never made the disciplined effort to fully develop your spiritual life? Do you allow busyness to distract you from studying God’s Word?

Prayer: Father, forgive me for the things in my life that have hindered Your Word from fully developing in me. I pray that You would nurture Your seeds of Truth in my life. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word” (Psalm 119:16).

Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon Know Your Real Enemy, What Makes Your Enemy Thrive: LISTEN NOW 

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