Weeds in the garden
We have had a lot of rain in eastern NC lately and that means lots of growth..not only for the vegetables in my garden but also for the weeds. As I was spending time in the garden this past week getting weeds out there were a few that I almost didn’t pluck out. I thought they were one of my vegetable plants but when I got closer and looked underneath the surface of the leaves I could see that their were no signs of vegetables growing and realized.. this is in fact, a weed. It was crazy how closely it resembled a real plant. So much so, that a few days before I had plucked smaller weeds around one of them to help it grow better. I hadn’t taken the time to inspect it very well..and I was helping that weed grow even bigger.
The Lord spoke to me in my spirit in that moment and reminded me that some things pop up in our lives.. it could be people or things we are spending our time on that from the surface looks like a good plant..that it is going to produce something useful and good but upon further inspection it is actually a weed.. that if not plucked.. will take the nutrients from the vegetables that are actually trying to produce.
If you have ever done any gardening you know how quickly these little weeds can pop up..it happens overnight and if we do not stay on top of it they can easily overtake us. It’s the same in life, things or people can come in and if we are not careful, if we do not examine the “fruit” we may miss that- instead of producing anything good in our lives it is actually taking time, money, and energy away from the work the Lord actually wants us to do. It could be a distraction from the enemy that “looks” right from the surface..it “looks” like it is from the Lord.. but in reality its a weed that needs to be removed.
I was reminded of the scripture in Matthew 21:18-19 it says “While Jesus was walking back into the city the next morning, He got hungry. He noticed a lone fig tree by the side of the path and walked over to see if there was any fruit on it, but there was none- He found only leaves. So He spoke to the fig tree and said “you will be barren and never bear fruit again!” Instantly the fig tree shriveled up right in front of their eyes.”
It got me thinking..how many other people had been walking down that same road, had been hungry and while spotting a fig tree ran over to see there was no fruit. Why did no one else pluck this tree out of the ground? Maybe it had been there so long it just became apart of the landscape.. locals just knew that it was barren.. but continued to let it stay. How many times have we left something in our lives so long.. we don’t even notice it isn’t producing good fruit anymore.. but we just keep it there.. maybe because it’s more comfortable to leave it there and to use our energy to pluck it out??
It took Jesus coming through to curse that fig tree. You see, he is about His Father’s business..He was on a mission. It reminds of the scripture “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” -Hebrews 12:1-2. We, too, have a purpose, a mission. We, too, should be about our Father’s business. We need to discern in this day what is from the Lord, and what is from the enemy..and if it the latter.. pluck it out quickly. It is there to steal our nutrients..our time, energy, and resources so instead of focusing on our mission and purpose we are struggling through life with no energy, no direction, no purpose.
Jesus is about getting the things that do not produce out of the way so it doesn’t trip us up..make us waste time.. taking our eyes off of what truly matters. When you invite Jesus in and ask Him to help you to clean up the things in your life that do not belong.. to help you get the weeds out… He will. It will require some times of being uncomfortable.. putting in some work.. but we must be about our fathers business just like Jesus was. Sometimes we have to get rid of some old stuff to make room for some new things the Lord wants to do in us and through us. “Behold I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth, shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19
This is a call.. a call to examine your life. What is in your life that is not producing good fruit. What in your life needs to be cursed and removed? What has the Lord told you to do..but this “thing” is taking all of your time, energy, and resources? Remove it. Ask the Lord to help you. He will. Stop tripping over these same old things and let God do a new thing. He wants to. His Word says so. Start now. Just do it.