WEEDS

Have you ever noticed no matter how many times you weed your garden, The weeds just keep coming back. I just weeded my garden about two weeks ago. I was careful to get all of the root because I knew if I did not get the root, they would soon grow back. My garden looked so beautiful. The plants were full and beautiful flowers had started to open. No weeds a garden without flaws. That was until a couple of days later. Then I noticed that there were weeds back already. Before long I noticed my poor garden was over come by weeds once again. In order for my garden to be free of these pesky weeds I must pull them daily. If we do not pull them the plants will soon wither and die because the weeds suffocate them and eventually will kill them.

This reminds me of our lives. There are many weeds and thorns of life that grow around us daily. It all depends on how we deal with these weeds as to what the outcome is. There are many things that grow like a bad weed. Maybe you have been hurt by someone and you can’t let it go. Maybe you have lost a loved one and are mad at God for taking them away. Maybe it is just the worries and stress of life in general. It can be many things. These weeds grow around us and become bigger and bigger. I know that one weed that can grow in my life if I allow it to is insecurity. I grew up in a very large family and I always had a sense of not belonging. I was bullied at school and I was always told by many that I was nothing. I was abused by people many times. After a while it breaks down your self esteem. As a teenager I tried to take my own life a couple of times. I did not want to live, No one cared about me so why should I. Even though I  knew God, the weeds of the world had over taken my vision and I was being suffocated by the world. The worlds image is that you must be of a certain weight, size and you must be good at everything or you are a nothing. I never fit into that criteria. And that was my thorn for the longest time. From time to time Satan tried to get that weed in there by striking my insecurities. However my gardener is more powerful then any other. I just lift my hands towards heaven and he deals with it.

It is important when we deal with these weeds in our lives that we get to the root of the issue. We can take only the top off, However it will only grow back.

Has your life become full of weeds that the enemy has planted? Are the worries and stress of every day life choking you. Do you have weeds that need to be pulled? There is a root to every weed. Maybe it is bitterness. envy, unforgiving, complaining or the root of jealousy. Some weeds may have a longer rooting system. They may be harder to pull and deal with. Remember…..You are not alone. God is standing by your side with the hoe ready to pull each and every one of those weeds from your heart. God is crazy about you. He loves you and he knows how beautiful you are. He is your best friend. He will never let you down. People in this world will fail you. Things in your life will hurt you. But God will never hurt you or reject you. God is so amazing that as I allow him to heal me and to help with these weeds he removes each and every one of them. He removes them through his word and prayer. He uses others around me to uplift me and to make me fell like I belong. I am loved because I am a child of the king. I love because he first loved me.

If you have any weeds in your life. I pray that you will open yourself up to God and allow him to show you them and to help you deal with them. He wants to pull each and everyone of those weeds to help us to be as beautiful as we can be.
When we deal with the weeds and their roots, we can become that beautiful garden without flaws.

WHO IS OUR FIGHT REALLY WITH?

Have you ever did something that God lays on your heart? Only to find yourself in a battle afterwards?

 

     Last week. I decided that I was going to try and witness to my neighbor. She had just moved into my complex not that long ago. I felt led that God wanted me to get to know her more. We had another neighbor moving into our complex and the gardens did not look all that great. So I decided to go and clean them up and make them look nice for when the new neighbors moved in. No one had done them all spring so they were full of weeds and what plants were in there we dyeing due to them being suffocated by the weeds.
I had mentioned to my neighbor I wanted to do this and she suggested that she help me. I though it was very nice of her to help. I also took this as an open door that God wanted me to get to know her and minister to her. The night before I prayed God, shine through me. I want you to use me in this situation.

    The next morning I got up and went to work. Soon my neighbor came out to join me. We had an amazing talk. She shared a lot of her life with me. She had been through a very hard life. I was able to share with her the trials and things in my life that I had endured. I also shared with her that I believe in God and I know that without him. I would never been able to forgive the many people in my life that I have. We finished the gardening and our visit continued on to Tim Horton’s for more fellowship. I was so happy with the way things went. When I was heading over to Tim Horton’s to meet her, I went to get gas. There was this lady there that was very unpleasant and she just wanted to argue with me. She was yelling from her car window at me. She was saying a lot of stuff about me and putting me down. Things she was saying to me were things that have actually bugged me about myself all my life pretty much. I had never met this woman before. Had no idea who she was or anything about her. All I knew is I was under attach from her and I had no idea way. These things she was saying were my insecurities that I had dealt with though out life. Basically the same insecurities that I had shared with my neighbor about.
    I was driving to meet my neighbor and it was really bothering me what she said. I was shaking because I was angry. I thought why is this bothering me so much. Then I could hear a still small voice say to me. I love you. I continued driving and tears filled my eyes. Who was I really fighting? Was I fighting this bitter ignorant woman? Who was my battle really with? My battle was with the enemy himself. He was not happy that I was on a high from doing what I felt God wanted me to do. He was angry that I had actually told my neighbor that there is hope. I find my hope in Jesus. He did not like that I had told my neighbor that I believed in God and without him my life would be incomplete. He was attaching me through this lady at the gas station . What better way to get to me so I would loose focus then to attach me with my insecurities? I prayed and said God be with that lady at the gas station and Lord forgive me for being angry with her. Help me to regain my focus for you.

    Every one of us is at battle everyday of our lives. When we leave ourselves open to minister to someone or to do what we feel God wants us to do. We leave ourselves open for some kind of attach. That is why it is so important that when we go out to battle we are ready. A soldier never goes out to his post without his armor. That would be silly.

Ephesians 6: 11

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. (NLV)

    It also goes on to tell us that we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against the evil ones. It also tells us to stay alert and persistent in our prayers.
When you do things and something happens take it as a sign you are on the right track. God tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. ( Matthew 5:44 )

When you find yourself in a trial with someone pray.