“In your patience possess ye your souls” (Luke 21:19 KJV).
Your soul is your mind, will, and emotions. Patience will protect the soulish part of man. The man who is constant on the word of God will keep his mind in check.
When you are standing in faith, the struggle to stand is not in your spirit, and it is not in your body. The battleground is in your mind. When you’re trying to remain constant on the Word of God, Satan is bombarding your mind, telling you that the Bible is not so. He may even people use people in your life.
Oftentimes, he’ll send the one who is closest to you. He doesn’t mess around with the people who have no any influence over you. Any time you decide to believe God, look out. But, remaining constant on the word of God will protect your mind.
In the parable of the sower (Mark 4:18, Luke 8:15), the ground that produces a 30-, 60-, and 100-fold return has a particular composition. In Luke 8:15 Jesus says, “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
In other words, one must be faithful to keep the word of God when things look bad as well as when things look good.
It’s like that seed planted in the ground. When a farmer plants a seed in the ground he goes to bed and he gets up. He goes to bed and gets up, goes to bed and gets up, goes to bed and gets up. He doesn’t go back after three days and say, “I don’t see anything. The seed must not be any good,” and take a shovel and dig it up and throw it away.
He has enough patience to wait until something comes through that he can see. Now it didn’t start growing the minute he saw something. It started growing the moment it was planted. It mixed with the chemical composition of the ground and began to grow.
The seed is the Word of God. The ground is the human heart, and when you speak words of faith, something begins to happen. The seed is planted, and as we remain constant on the word of God, we go to bed and get up, go to bed and get up, go to bed and get up, thanking our Father that the need is met. “Thank You, Father that it is so in Jesus’ name.”
Then one day we see a blade pop up. We see the manifestation of it. Hallelujah!
Scripture References: Mark 4:18; Luke 8:5-15
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).