In the parable of the sower Jesus illustrated how people respond to the word which he preached.
20 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy;
21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. (Matthew 13:20-21)
He said there are those who receive the word but they are like rocky soil. It's always difficult for a plant to grow in poor soil and sometimes it's difficult for the truth to grow in us when life becomes rocky. What this part of the parable is telling us is that we need to hold onto the truth no matter how tough the circumstances.
We should not let the world shake the truth out of us. Satan wants to snatch the truth out of us by getting us preoccupied with doubt and lies, and the world wants to drive the truth out of us by stress. But an important part of the Christian life is to learn spiritual stress management. When an oak tree is fully grown its roots can split boulders apart, so we need to need to carefully grow so that this rocky world will lose its impact on us.
