On Saturday the weather was beautiful…70 degrees, a light breeze and sunny. A near perfect day and I took full advantage of it by spending several hours outside. As I gazed at my yard, my eyes landed on this:
We have four raised beds that we use to plant a variety of vegetables each spring and summer. For the past two years we have enjoyed fresh vegetables like lettuce, carrots, squash, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes and collards. It took only one glance to discern that our beds were sorely in need of some work in order for them to be ready to plant vegetables in a few weeks.
Out came the shovel, rake, pitchfork, and gloves. At first the job seemed overwhelming. Why in the world did we let the beds get in such terrible shape after our collards finished growing? Not only why, but how did they manage to become so overrun with weeds? The answer is simple: the weeds took over because we did NOTHING. ( click to tweet ) After we harvested our last batch of collards, we walked away and forgot about the beds. Big mistake.
The work was tiring and hard on our back and arms. More than once I fussed at myself for letting the beds become so overgrown with weeds. Finally after about two hours of work, our beds now look like this:
Can you believe all the weeds we got out of those two beds?
It occurred to me that my heart is not very different than our raised beds. The heart can quickly be taken over by the weeds of sin and rebellion if I am not careful to tend it. ( CLICK TO TWEET ) If I am not diligent and intentional about prayer and studying the Scriptures, my heart will fill up with the things of this world rather than the things of God. One little worldly weed may not seem like such a bad thing, but it doesn’t take long for that weed to multiply and overgrow my heart.
Being vigilant about allowing the Lord to examine my heart and life is crucial, for if I am not, I can find worldly weeds taking up space where God’s Word previously dwelt. In addition, I must be willing to do the hard work of pulling out those worldly weeds, roots and all, and turning over fresh soil that is ready for His Word to take root. Doing nothing to prevent sin and rebellion from taking root in my heart can be devastating.
Meditation Moment: Are there worldly weeds overgrowing the confines of your heart? Perhaps it is just one little worldly weed. Don’t be deceived into thinking that one little sinful thought or habit won’t multiply. ( click to tweet this ) Deal with it now. Ask the Lord to show you anything in your heart that is not pleasing to Him and then be willing to do the hard work of uprooting it and getting rid of it. When you do, your heart will be prepared for God to plant something beautiful in it.
