I love this promise from the Lord as recorded by Isaiah because it reminds us that His Word never returns void. I think many of us become discouraged when we faithfully apply ourselves to the things of God and yet don’t experience the freedom and breakthrough we’ve been longing for. We pray, seek, and trust, but we still endure a prolonged wilderness that leaves us wondering if He’s there at all. It can be equally as difficult when we’re trusting Him for deliverance on behalf of someone else. Maybe it’s a child, a spouse, or a parent to whom we’re speaking life and planting seeds of hope, but we see no evidence of change. Either way, it’s painful, and while it’s important not to give up the fight, it’s vital to evaluate the way we conduct it. You see, as counterintuitive as it seems, winning the battle actually comes through rest. Since the promises of God are not a matter of “if” but of “when,” we can move from a posture of protest to a posture of praise. When we pray, we needn’t find new ways of saying the same things, we can simply thank the Lord that the answer we’re looking for has already been dispatched. Just like snow falls from the sky to water the earth and bring forth fruit in His time, so His promises to us will prevail, it’s just a matter of when. No seed sown from the Word is ever barren, and since the Lord brings the rain, it’s He who determines the size of the crop and the season in which it will spring up.

My friend, Jesus’ promises are trustworthy and true! Though you may have to wait longer than expected for the harvest, because He is ever-faithful, you can know with certainty that it will come. Nothing spoken by your Heavenly Father will ever return void, and as you sow His truth in your heart and proclaim His words over the lives of those you care about, you can relax and praise Him as you await the revelation of His answer. As surely as crops grow when seed is planted and irrigated, reaping is guaranteed when you sow the Word, water it through faith, and rest as you anticipate the arrival of its first fruits.