UPROOT THE WEEDS
Jesus called the multitude to Himself, and He said to them, “Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” “Those things that proceed out of the mouth comes from the heart; and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, theft, false witness, and blasphemies.”
TEND TO YOUR GARDEN
Working in the dirt might not be everyone’s idea of relaxation, but when you use your hands to cultivate plants, sow seeds, and uproot weeds you can learn valuable life lessons. One of these lessons is about weeds, and their roots. Some weeds aren’t that easy to remove. They die hard.
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But a thief came at night and sowed weeds amongst the good seeds.”
Bad habits die hard. False beliefs die hard. Changing your lifestyle is hard. The “New-Year-New-Me” body transformation club will be able to tell you that even at the peak of their fitness motivation (or desperation), they could only keep going all-out for a maximum of 20 – 40 days before they slipped up, got depressed, binged again, or worse, woke up in another mans bed. It’s default conditioning.
Even Jesus Christ was tempted when He chose to fast from the desires of the flesh.When you work to change your ways, the thief will come to steal from you with tailor-made temptations and things that bring you back to where you started. Overcoming the sensual/carnal desires of the flesh is one of the greatest challenges known to us; and it’s what we are called to do as Christians who walk by the power of the Holy Spirit. As it is written, “Be holy for I am holy.” We must pull out the weeds.
DO SOME GARDENING
Gardening will give you time to think; and it will keep your hands busy. Nothing will ever change if we don’t recognize our problem areas. Awareness is the first step towards change. So, think about the cause and effect of your own thoughts, actions, and beliefs. Are they congruent with your goals?
Once you have awareness, pray about the issue and ask Jesus to heal you, help you, and guide you. The Holy Spirit was given to us as “The Helper” and “Comforter”. Invite Him into your life and Christ will help you uproot the weeds. When the time (Harvest) comes, He will burn away the impurities.
While you’re out there gardening, look at the yard, the walls, the plants. Is your house in order? Maintenance is a very important part of gardening, and life, and if we neglect maintaining things they will fade, crack, and break. Make a list of things you can fix, then tick them off as “Done”.
Feelings of unforgiveness, things people have spoken into our lives, and emotions that keep us bound in a state of depression, anxiety, and doubt have to be removed and this can sometimes challenge us more than any other physical exercise or diet. But it’s fundamental for our health.
TACTICAL TASK
The first step towards eliminating the weeds in your heart is to know about them, and then to be certain of what it is you need healing for. Ignorance is the choice we pridefully make to believe we are fine when in fact we have all been affected by a sinfully broken world. I believe healing for the soul can only be found with Jesus Christ. His is my Teacher, Comforter, Healer, and my Protector. Christ is the Seed we need. Jesus designed the world this way so we can seek Him as El-Shaddai.