Sure Success

"“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11, ESV)


This is one of my favorite passages of scripture. I make this my prayer almost every Sunday that I get up to preach. It gives me such confidence to know that the impact of the sermons I preach are not dependent upon my words, but upon His Word.

This passage of scripture is one of the reasons that I preach the way that I do. I attempt to allow the text of God’s Word to set the agenda for the sermon. I do this because I want His Word to go out and accomplish His purposes in our lives.

I love the promise found in Isaiah 55. There is a great picture here of how God uses His Word. The rain and snow that falls from the sky always finds their mark. They never miss. They always hit the earth and bring the gift of life and productivity. In a similar way, God’s Word hits the mark that He determines. Through it we find the necessary ingredients for a lifetime of true discipleship to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The promise of this passage is also why I try to put myself under the influence of scripture as often as possible. I try to read, memorize, listen to, meditate on, and be taught the scriptures. I know that this will put myself in the line of fire of God’s purposes. That is always a good place to be.