God sows good seed in our lives, and it is our responsibility to protect that seed and tend our ground to protect what is going to give life to us spiritually. The thorns in our lives are the things that smother and silence the voice of God and the purposes of God in our life. Some thorns we need to uproot are taking offense, being unteachable, self-reliance, distractions and being too busy doing good things even though those things keep us from staying close to God. You change your ground by shifting your spirit, by making an intentional change in your mind, will and emotions that moves you closer to God. When Abraham made that shift in the spirit, his relationship with God became more important than his other relationships and he was able to remove the thorns of self-reliance.