Last week I was outside weeding the yard– a monthly task that I mostly avoid until I absolutely have to. But of course, it needs to be done.
This particular time I went out to weed, I felt the Lord by my side, and as I worked, He deeply convicted my heart with a very simple, yet complex analogy regarding my sin and the weeds I was pulling.
I really loved the way that the Lord used such a mundane task to speak to me and bring clarity and light to my perspective on sin, so I wanted to take the time to share it with you all, in hopes that it speaks to your heart in some way as well.
Let me first define “sin”– anything that separates us from God. Anything that serves to distract us from our true worth and identity in Christ, and keeps us from growing closer to the Lord. I know that for me personally, my two biggest areas of struggle are 1) my pridefulness and 2) attempting to find my worth in the approval of others.
So how do we “weed the yard”? How do we successfully REMOVE the sin in our lives?
Here are 10 points that the Lord made to me during my lovely stroll around my yard last week.
1) Grab it by the root. Picking at the surface might work temporarily, but next time you go to weed, it will have sprouted all over again– because it never actually left. What is the root of my sin? Why do I keep going back to it? No, it won’t be easy. It will be painful. But we MUST get after the root.
2) Don’t allow it to multiply. Where there is one weed, there is always the potential for more to sprout up. When left unattended, it WILL spread. Complacency and laziness are a weed’s most effective nutrient.
3) Don’t be deceived. “Is that even a weed? I mean, it looks more like a flower to me…” Sometimes the lines get blurred and it is hard to distinguish between the two. It is so important to ask the Lord for clarity when it comes to these “hidden” sins. Only in His light will the truth be revealed.
4) Keep your surroundings in mind. As the roots become deeper, the weeds will very certainly spread to other areas of the yard, and sometimes even cross over the fence into our neighbor’s yard. This happens when we lose our compassion and concern for others and selfishly decide to only consider how our decisions will affect us personally.
5) Weeds are more likely to threaten good soil– but also easier to uproot. Don’t be fooled. Satan has his eye on you, and the closer you get to the Lord, the more the enemy wants to come in and interrupt the growth that is happening. So YES, as we choose to follow Christ, we will be attacked with lies, with envy, with injustice, with anger, with jealousy, with self-pity, with loneliness, with hopelessness, with lust, with exhaustion, with fear… All of these things WILL come. But as the enemy surrounds us, know that OUR GOD is EVEN CLOSER to us. and He has the power to uproot even the deepest sin in our lives– and this process will be so much less painful for us if we are continually cultivating GOOD soil.
6) Stop watering it. The Lord is constantly reminding me that He doesn’t need me to “cut back” on how much I sin. He wants me to completely GIVE IT UP– to turn away and never look back… to realize that my sinful habits only lead to empty pits and broken roads. What He asks of me, is for me to daily fix my eyes on Him and truly BELIEVE that He is enough.
7) This will be uncomfortable. There is a certain area in my yard where gigantic weeds grow and they are full of thistles. They are the worst to pull, because hours after I’m done weeding, my hands and arms are still itching because the thistles are under my skin. I hate pulling those weeds, and I avoid them at all costs. But it has to be done… they can’t stay.
8) Don’t weed after dark. The first time I attempted to weed last week, I did so at 7:00 at night, just as the sun was going down. I thought I did a pretty good job! The next morning I went out to finish up the rest of the yard, and as I was walking by the area I had weeded the night before, I realized how many I had missed! But the Lord’s light shines into every corner, every crack, every small space imaginable. He will shine a light into the darkest places of our lives, and His glorious light will drive away all the darkness.
9) Who cares what your neighbor’s yard look like? One of my biggest excuses for not wanting to weed the yard is that, in comparison to our neighbor’s yard, ours looks amazing! Sure we might have a few weeds here and there, but they are hardly noticeable. But I mean, have you seen THEIR yard? It is hideous and FULL of weeds… some so tall they are overtaking the fence that stands between our yards. But wait… what does my neighbor’s yard have to do with my own? Does looking at their yard make mine have any less weeds? No. A weed is a weed, whether there is one, or one hundred. And the Lord most certainly is not looking at their yard when He looks at you. He is looking at YOU. And not just at your yard full of weeds and sin, but at your heart– which HE has the power to make clean through the blood that was shed by His Son on the cross. But will you let Him?
10) Our vision is imperfect. God is the ultimate Gardener. His ways are perfect, and there is nothing that goes unseen from His gaze. As Jeremiah 23:24 says, “‘Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them’ declares the Lord. ‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?'”. Only He has the power and the authority to make us new. It is only by having our weaknesses called out by His perfect vision that we are able to lay those at His feet and allow Him to make His power perfect in our weakness. His Son has already come to this earth and sacrificed Himself for us… so that we may be FREE from sin, and that we may have LIFE and have it to full.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” -John 10:10
