Our Efforts Depend On God's Timing and The Condition Of Their Heart

Reaching out to girls who are exploited is not an easy ministry.  Our hearts desire is for the girl to leave whatever situation she is in, but it doesn't usually happen right away or sometimes even at all. 

In Rachel Lloyd's book Girls Like Us she talks about how the recruitment of girls into the sex industry generally looks the same for all girls, but the leaving looks different for each girl.   They are all lured by a pimp who preys upon their vulnerability.  They offer something the girl is looking for.  Maybe a father figure or her desire to be part of a family.  Once a girl becomes controlled by that pimp, getting her to leave a life that she's come to know as familiar looks different for each and every girl.  It's hard to break that bond that has been established with her pimp and she may have to "leave" several times before she is ready to leave for good.

It's hard not to get discouraged at times.  You want to feel like your efforts are making a difference.  We pour our hearts into outreach and telling these girls their worth in Christ, but ultimately it is not the power of the one who speaks that determines whether God's Word will bear fruit.  It ultimately depends on God's timing and the condition of the persons heart you are reaching out to.   

We are studying the Book of Matthew in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) this year.  Last week we covered The Parable of the Sower.  The interpretation of this parable was so encouraging to me.  Matthew tells us that the seed is the gospel message about Christ's kingdom.  The sower is anyone of us today who tells others about that message.  When we share God's word with someone else we are sowing seeds.  The seeds in the parable fall on four different types of soil: along the path, on rocky ground, among the thorns and on good soil.  Only the seed that falls on good soil produces a crop.  The sower is the same for each scenario presented, but it's the condition of the soil (or the persons heart) which determines which seeds will produce.  This is such a good reminder to me that it is God working through me and not my efforts that are producing a crop yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  One can have a great message and the best approach, but if the girl is not in a place where she is ready to leave and make a change you may not see the results of your effort.

We can continue to sow the seeds of God's word into their hearts and to show unconditional love to these girls.  But we may not be the one who ultimately reaps what we've sown.  Someone else may come along and water the seed that we've planted.  Another may pull of few weeds and help the seed grow a little more.  It may be another person altogether who helps that girl bloom into the beautiful flower that God intended her to be. 

 

The Parable of the Sower

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.  Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.  Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  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.  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.”