Mark 4:18-20
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

The word has been sown into the world with the intention to bear fruit for the sower. But the condition of the ground matters very much in enabling or hindering the fruit from coming forth. It’s not just riches that act as thorns, but there are many “other things” that can come in and choke the word, hinder the seed, and prevent us from bearing fruit. Anything in this world could be a care that becomes a thorn. Multiple thorns of multiple types can grow up into our field and hinder both our spiritual growth and our fruitfulness for the Lord.

So how can we deal with thorns in the field of our heart? First, we can examine our “ground” for thorn-bearing seeds, things that have the potential to grow and crowd out the good seed, take resources from the good seed, or cause less of the good seed to start to grow. This gives us an opportunity to deal with it early enough so that it doesn’t grow and become a bigger problem. Second, we can acknowledge the thorns that are already growing. Let’s be honest with ourselves about things in our lives that interfere in our walk with God, that take up time, attention, or devotion that should belong to God and what He wants us to do in our lives in serving and living for Him.

Once we recognize these things, then let us remove those thorns that have grown up to full size and are dominating that space in our lives that God wants to fill with Himself and His Word. Let us take whatever drastic steps are necessary to rid our lives of thorns that we can tend to ourselves. This world and our enemy  throw enough thorns in our path without us cultivating harmful things in our own lives. May our lives, if they aren’t right now, become that good ground that bears much fruit to be added to God’s kingdom.