That Hits Different Sample

## Can’t Handle The Heat Now that we know God’s Word can’t take root in a hard heart, let’s talk about the second soil Jesus mentioned in this parable — the shallow soil. The farmer threw seed that landed in a place where there wasn’t much soil, and something did sprout quickly, but it was immediately scorched by the sun because its roots didn’t go deep enough. Nothing of substance can grow in a place that’s shallow. This soil represents those times when we’ve received God’s Word with passion and enthusiasm, but when the excitement faded and the pressures came, we got tripped up and then checked out. Can you relate to this? The problem is when we can’t handle the heat, we become easy to beat. When something bad happens to us and our faith gets tested, it can be a natural reaction to put God on trial. We begin to question Him, as if it’s up to us to decide if He’s still good, faithful, and worthy. If we come to the conclusion that because our circumstances aren’t good, then God must not be good, we’re like the second soil in this story. Our faith was short-lived because it was shallow. But we don’t have to settle for shallow faith and temporary highs. We shouldn’t forfeit the very seed we need to flourish when the heat comes. We weren’t made to just survive the heat — we were made to thrive in the heat. Jeremiah 17 tells us that the person who trusts in the Lord is like a tree planted by water: It sends its roots out toward a stream, and it doesn’t fear when heat comes. It doesn’t stress in a year of drought — that means the pressures of this life can’t wipe this kind of person out. In fact, the pressures of this life actually make this kind of person stand out because their leaves stay green and they keep producing fruit. They are confident in Christ, even when the worship music fades. It means when troubles come, they don’t give up — they grow up. Shallow roots make it easy for the enemy to place something on you that crushes what God put inside of you. But, deep roots — well, those hit different. Deep roots prove all God has put inside of you, no matter what this world puts on you. Spend time today asking God to show you where you have shallow soil. Be brave enough to ask Him to test your faith, because that’s the only way you’ll really know how deep your roots go.