Years ago, when my mother would go to visit a friend’s house, she would often see a houseplant she liked. If she didn’t have that particular species of plant, she would ask her friend if she could break a little piece of the plant off and take it home. I used to watch her, and wonder, “What is she up to?”
Instead of going to the nursery and buying a whole plant, she’d say, “Just let me have a little piece of this plant.” Then, when she got home, she’d stick that little piece of plant in a jar of water, and the plant would just stay in that water, day in and day out.
Day in and day out, day after day after day, that little piece of plant sat in that water. I’d look at it just sitting there, not looking like it was doing anything, and I’d think, “What’s going on here?” You would think if you broke a piece of plant off its life source—that is, off the main plant—it would wither up and die.
I’d look at that little piece of plant my mother broke off the main plant and stuck in water, and I’d see it sitting there in the water day after day, month after month. I’d think, “That thing is never going to grow.”
But then, one day, I’d walk through the room where that little piece of plant was sitting in the same jar of water it had been in for months, and I’d see that little piece of plant had developed its own roots. It didn’t have to depend on the roots of the original plant anymore. It had stayed in the water long enough to develop its own roots. It could be planted in soil because now it had the ability to draw nourishment directly from its life source.
Satan’s Objective
What Satan wants to do the minute he sees you’re beginning to get a revelation from the Word of God about your rights and benefits as a born-again believer, is to come immediately and steal that Word out of your heart. He wants to steal the Word before you have time to develop any roots. He wants to break you off from your life source and keep you away from it long enough for you to wither up and die.
But what God wants you to do is stay in the water – the water of the Word (Eph. 5:26) – long enough to develop roots of your own, because you’re not going to produce fruit until you have roots. So if the devil can steal the Word from you before it develops a root in you and you become established in it, you’ll never get the fruit the Word is supposed to produce in your life.
The key to developing the root of what you get from God’s Word is to stay in the water day in and day out, just like that little piece of plant, until you finally develop a root. And once you get the root, you’re guaranteed the fruit. You can eat fruit off the Word once you’re rooted in it.
However, the devil knows that if you develop roots in God’s Word, then you’re going to be able to overcome all the trouble he’s throwing at you. So his first objective is to keep you out of the Word.
The Bible says we shouldn’t be surprised if trouble seems to increase the minute we start applying the Word to our lives. Paul says: “…all that will live godly in Christ (the Anointed) Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).
And Peter warns us: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (1 Peter 4:12).
Unfortunately, there seem to be many faith people who think it’s a strange thing if they have some persecution. They seem to have the idea that because they now walk by faith, they’re not supposed to have problems.
But of course that’s not true. The Bible tells us to expect persecution and trouble to increase when we get born again, because the devil is desperate to keep the Word of God from taking root and producing fruit in our lives.
The Enemy’s Part
In the parable of the sower in Mark 4:14, Jesus explained Satan’s part in our trouble:
“The sower soweth the word.”
So right now, as you’re reading this, I am sowing the Word, I am planting the Word, and you are attending to the Word and not letting it depart from your eyes (Prov. 4:21). And the Word is going through your eye-gate into your heart.
Jesus continues in verse 15: “And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh…”
Satan comes when? Tomorrow? Next month? In two and a half hours? No!
“Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.”
Now notice that Satan shows up for a very specific reason – to get the Word. So that answers the question of why you are having more trouble and tribulation now than you had before you got born again or when you were in a church that didn’t give you the Word.
Now that you’re born again, now that you’re reading about how to apply the Word to your life and get results, Satan knows the fruit that can be produced from the Word if it develops a root in you. Therefore, he comes immediately because he knows that if he can get there as soon as possible, he can take from you what you’ve received before it has time to develop a root.
If Satan can steal the Word from you before it develops a root, you’ll have no chance of bearing fruit and giving him problems. So right now, as you’re reading this, Satan is outside plotting. He is planning ways to take the Word you’re receiving before you’ve had time to stay in it long enough to get rooted and established in it.
Jesus goes on to point out the dangers of having no roots: “And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time…” (Mark 4:16-17)
Why do they have no root? They didn’t stay in the water long enough. They immediately heard the Word with gladness, but they didn’t hold on to it.
You may be thrilled and excited when you first get a revelation from God’s Word. But if, when your emotions cool off, you allow the devil to come in and steal the Word, you will never benefit from the fruit you could have produced from that Word once it had developed a root. And the only way you’re going to develop roots in God’s Word is to spend time in that Word just as that little piece of plant spends time in the jar of water. It stays in the water until it develops its own root, giving it the ability to produce its own fruit.
Jesus now tells us why persecutions and afflictions come: “…When affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake…” (Mark 4:17).
So we know afflictions and persecutions arise for the Word’s sake.
“…immediately they are offended” (Mark 4:17).
If you don’t have enough root to keep you “strapped down” in the position of gladness you were in when you first heard the Word, you’ll get upset and offended. When you’re persecuted and afflicted, or troubled, because you’re trying to live by God’s Word, soon you’ll begin to neglect your salvation and let the things you have heard slip out of your consciousness. When that happens, you won’t overcome trouble – trouble will overcome you.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Creflo Dollar is the founder and senior pastor of World Changers Church International (WCCI). He is a highly sought-after speaker ministering the Gospel at conferences worldwide. His works, in the form of books, CDs, and DVDs are available in many countries around the world. Known for his prolific insights and charismatic style, he helps thousands improve their lives by teaching the Gospel of Grace that empowers change in their day-to-day experiences.