Today we begin the process of looking at the questions I posed in last week's email. The first one was, "Has worrying about the things of this world ever given you any peace?"

Weeds! 
By Mike Rule

We all have pressure coming at us from many directions: relational pressure, financial pressure, religious pressure, self-expectations, etc. Let's just sum all of this up as the worries and cares of this world. There are so many things in this world that clamor for our attention. Each one of those things has roots that reach deeply into our human flesh, meaning the worldly residue that has accumulated in our mind and emotions.

As I have walked this path over this past decade, I have seen things that are both amazing and disturbing. When the pressures of life build, even those who appear to have it all together have come crumbling down. I have seen this in myself as well. My question to the Lord has been, "Why?" Especially since I have seen things come out of myself that I thought were long dead and gone. As I have reflected on it, the Lord has begun to renew my mind.

First, the struggle reminds me that flesh does not improve. It will always be flesh. Who I am at my worst is the true condition of my flesh. Secondly, I have seen that there are deep rooted weeds in every one of us. These are things the Lord leaves in us until the proper time. Sometimes the worst thing we can do is pull the weeds out from around a plant. Until that plant is deeply rooted and established, it cannot handle the stress of having the weeds removed. If they were to be removed too soon, it would kill the plant. Other times, there are roots that lie dormant under the surface. For whatever reason, something triggers fast growth and they come raging to the surface attempting to choke out the life of the plant. Again, the wise gardener knows the proper time to deal with these issues.

As I have seen the weeds grow in my own life, it has been tempting to rip them out immediately. Yet, in and of myself, I know there is no way I can really do that. It has stretched my faith beyond measure to trust the Lord to deal with things in His proper time. He has not done things the way I thought He should and there have been other things that have grown up as a result. At times it has felt like an endless cycle and the weeds have seemed to all but choke out the Life of Christ in me, yet I am learning more fully that He does all things in HIS perfect time.

The weeds are the worries and cares of this world. As you see weeds in your own life, be encouraged that at the proper time, He will deal with them. But not until the Life of Christ that is in you has taken deep root. In fact, the stress that comes from worrying about the things of this world is a weed in itself that He wants to deal with in each one of us. Rest in Him and trust His timing in all things. It takes greater faith to leave weeds alone when they seem to be killing the plant than it does to rip them out prematurely and damage or destroy the life of the plant.

Verses For Reflection

Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, it happened that indeed some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and ate it up. And another fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth. And it sprang up at once, due to not having deepness of earth. And when the sun rose, it was scorched. And because it had no root, it withered away. And another fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And another fell on good ground and yielded fruit, going up and increasing. And one bore thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundredfold. And He said to them, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And when He was alone, they who were about Him, with the Twelve, asked Him concerning the parable. And He said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those outside, all these things are given in parables so that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And He said to them, Do you not know this parable? And how then will you know all parables? The sower sows the Word. And these are those by the wayside, where the Word is sown. And when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the Word that was sown in their hearts. And these are those likewise being sown on stony places; who, when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with gladness. But they have no root in themselves, but are temporary. Afterward when affliction or persecution arises for the Word's sake, they are immediately offended. And these are those being sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world, and the deceit of riches, and the lust about other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful. And these are those sown on good ground, who hear the Word and welcome it, and bear fruit, one thirty, one sixty, and one a hundredfold. (Mark 4:3-20 MKJV)

He put out another parable to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat and went his way. But when the blade had sprung up and had produced fruit, then the darnel also appeared. So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then where have the darnel come from? He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them up? But he said, No, lest while you gather up the darnel you also root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather together the darnel and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my granary. He put out another parable to them, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches. (Matthew 13:24-32 MKJV)