A word that does not come back empty

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

This verse is quoted constantly, and almost always cut off from what comes just before it. The two preceding verses speak of rain and snow coming down from heaven and not returning there without watering the earth. That is where the image comes from.

Now, rain has one particular characteristic: it does not work fast. It falls, it disappears into the ground, and for weeks nothing visible happens. A farmer who dug up the seed each morning to check on it would kill it.

That is precisely what many people do with the word of God. They receive a promise, then unearth it daily to see how it is doing. They call that faith; it is closer to anxiety at prayer.

The verse says two distinct things, and they are worth separating. First: the word accomplishes what God pleases. Second: it prospers in the thing whereto it was sent. That last phrase points to a mission — the word was sent for something. Which means the word has a purpose of its own, and that purpose is not necessarily the one you assigned to it.

This is where many stumble. A promise received often produces something other than what was expected, and we conclude it failed. It did not fail: it was not in your service. It went out of God's mouth, not yours.

There is rest available here, if we will take it. You are not responsible for making the word come to pass. That is not your office. Your work is to sow it and to leave it in the ground.

This week. Take the promise occupying you right now — the one you check on every morning. Write it on a sheet of paper, date it, and put it away. Do not read it again for thirty days. You will see what grew while you were not watching.

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