You will sustain me as you’ve
promised in your word. (Psalm 119:116)
No one or nothing can separate me
from your love. (Romans 8:38-39)
You will finish the work you have
started in my life. (Philippians 1:6)
By your Spirit and your word, I’m
guided from above. (John 16:13-15)
WEEDS
Pulling weeds. Sounds like an unpleasant job, right? I enjoy pulling weeds. Why? Because I know
that if I pull the few weeds that come up early in the spring, I can prevent
having a yard full of weeds in the summer.
Oh yes, I use pre-emergent weed killer, and later distribute weed and
feed all over the lawn and water it in well; but there are always a few weeds
that escape the pre-emergent stage and are hard to kill once they are full
grown. Those are the ones that have to
be pulled or dug out if I desire a flawless carpet of green, and I’ll probably
have to do it all over again next year if not all of my neighbors tend their
lawns.
God
is referred to as a husbandman or gardener in scripture. He nurtures his garden, the church. He sprinkles on the pre-emergent evil-killer,
the law we are taught from our youth and the milk of the word we learn when we
first come to know him. Then he applies his
weed and feed, his word preached and read that shows us the areas we need to
yield to him so that desired growth occurs. Sometimes he pulls weeds. He pulls weeds in our lives by removing
things that hinder our walk with him. He
also pulls the stubborn weeds who never surrender their lives to him at all and
“discards them like dross.” He continues
to work in our lives year after year to purify his garden.
The
next time you’re pulling weeds, remember to thank God for taking care of the
garden of your life. Allow him to remove
the weeds of bad habits, and dangerous friendships as soon as he identifies
them in your life. Read the Bible and
apply it in your life to prevent weeds before they emerge and stop the ones
that are already growing. Water it in by
meditating on God’s word to you. Thank
him for weeding your garden when the influence of others leads you astray. Thank him for continuing to work in his
garden the church and specifically in that small plot of ground that is your
own life. Thank God that you are firmly planted in his garden, and no weeds can
ever choke you out!
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