The Word Is Guaranteed to Have Its Effect

Isaiah 55:10–11

¹⁰As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ¹¹so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

We’ve had a dry winter. There is concern about water levels. Watering restrictions are in place. Low water levels at Dillon Reservoir even forced a local water taxi service to change its plans. Instead of passenger shuttles, it had to start doing guided breakfast and dinner cruises because the lack of water made docking and passenger transfers too difficult.

And yet, on a recent high-altitude hike, there was still green grass. There were still wildflowers. Even in a dry season, water had done its work somewhere. It had soaked into the soil. It had brought life to places we might not have expected.

God uses that picture to teach us about his Word. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty.” We don’t always know where the Word will produce visible results. We don’t always know how a person will react. Sometimes the Word creates . . . . joyful faith, as it did when Paul was brought to the light of Christ or when Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus and salvation came to his house. Sometimes the Word exposes sin or reveals unbelief. But the Word always does what God sends it to do.

That gives us confidence to hear it, trust it, and speak it. We are not responsible for controlling the results. God’s Word carries God’s power. Like rain and snow from heaven, it brings life where God desires, especially the life of faith in Christ our Savior.