Listen to Devotion

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

It doesn’t look like much from a distance, just a white line on the horizon. But as you get closer, the line has contours and dips and domes. It turns into a white ridge of snow-covered mountains. That snowpack may look quiet and still, but in the spring and summer months, it’s doing an important job. Melting.

In places like the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the snowmelt is crucial for area agriculture. As snow melts, water runs down into rivers and reservoirs. It waters farms and orchards and carries communities through the dry months of summer.

God says his Word works like that. Rain and snow do not fall from the sky and return without watering the earth. They accomplish God’s purpose. So does his Word. It may not look powerful. Bible passages read around the family dinner table. A devotion next to a hospital bed. A Sunday sermon.

But God says his Word does not return empty. That promise is great comfort, especially when we feel spiritually dry. Maybe your faith feels weak. Maybe guilt has hardened your heart. Maybe grief has left you cracked and tired.

God’s Word is not powerful because of how strongly you feel it. It is powerful because God is working through it. The same Lord who sends rain to make the earth bud and flourish sends his Word to give faith, forgiveness, peace, and life.

The good news of Jesus is not empty. Jesus’ death for your sins was not empty. His promise to forgive you is not empty. He left the tomb empty so that every promise he made is fulfilled.

So, use God’s Word. Read it. Speak it. Share it. Rest in it. God will use it for his purpose.

Lord, water my dry heart with your Word. Make faith grow in me and use your Word through me to comfort others with Jesus. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.