Saturday, March 12, 2016

Removing the Rooted Weeds from my Life


I went outside today and saw that my huge “farm yard” field had so many new tall weeds throughout the whole area.  I asked my son to help me start de-weeding that section and told him that I would work on other areas in the front yard.  He started working on it for about a half an hour.  Unfortunately, he was unwilling to finish the project and asked if he could just cut the grass in the field instead of having to take all that time to remove the weeds.  I told him that I would prefer he continue de-weeding, but l knew I could not force him to take all that time to do that – so I said he could go ahead and cut the grass.

 I could see that it was very time consuming to do all that, but I also realized that it was more significant to de-weed and pull up the roots rather than just cut the grass, especially since those nasty weeds would keep coming back bigger and stronger.  I continued for a while to work outside in a small section of the front yard to pull up a lot of the weeds from the roots.  
Then I looked ahead and saw that there was so much more to do, which was a bit overwhelming for me, so I tried to make myself stay focused on what was just nearby.  I knew I would not be able to finish the task in a short period of time, but at least I was willing to get started.


This also reminded me why we need to continue to “de-weed” our own lives with the help of the Lord to get those roots pulled out (instead of just trying to cut off the top part), so that He will help remove all the things that have hindered and hurt us. Otherwise, those deeply rooted weeds in our lives will continue to grow bigger and stronger and try to mess us up. It also reminded me of the fact that as believers in Christ, we need to make sure that we understand that we are rooted and grounded in His love.  

Ephesians 3:17-19 states: so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Also, we need to realize that as we learn to trust in the Lord, we will see that we are in a sense “like trees which are planted by water and that sends out its roots by the stream.”  Jeremiah 17:7-8 refers to that illustration and helps us to understand that our roots are different than the deeply rooted weeds that infect our lives.   

I would much rather have my roots strengthened by the Lord than to be defeated and overwhelmed by the deeply entrenched weeds that are all around us – which the Enemy often uses to defeat us.  Hebrews 12:14-15 states that we are “strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.  See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble and by it many become defiled.”

If we meditate on the Word of God, we will see how our roots grow deeper in our relationship with the Lord.  The Spirit of God also shows us how the scriptures help us deal with the negative weeds in our lives as we allow our own roots to become deeply strengthened by Him so that we can move forward in life.  We also have to remember that it does take time for all this to happen, just like when we are involved in de-weeding of our own yards.  But thankfully, the Lord gives us the wisdom, insight and discernment to see this from His perspective and not our own – so that we can trust Him to complete these things in our life.

I do believe it is very important to pull up the weeds from the roots and cast them aside while the Lord to continues to deepen our own roots since we are built up in Him (Colossians 2:7).  I am willing to be patient and take the time for this to be completed in my life because I look forward to becoming strengthened in my faith and walk with the Lord. Amen!