Who of you had to work in your family’s garden when you were young? I did, and I didn’t like it much! The weeds, the heat, the bugs… ugh. That was not my idea of fun! But it was one of the chores that were expected to be done because we were part of the household – that, along with mowing the lawn, vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning bathrooms. Yay.
Now that I’m older and I know what’s involved in keeping a garden, I’ve not been too excited to start one. I prefer to buy organic! LOL. That said, have you ever considered that your soul is like a garden that must be watered and tended?
We have weeds, heat, and yes, we have bugs that must be removed. That may sound terrible, but we all have a combination of flowers and weeds in our hearts; it’s human nature. The thing is, God is working His nature into us, so that’s why weeds and bugs must skedaddle!
Before we talk too much about getting rid of bugs and weeds, let’s paint a picture of a healthy soul garden.
Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.
(Emphasis mine, Isaiah 58:11 New Living Translation, NLT).
One with a well-watered soul feeds the hungry and helps those in trouble without feeling a drain on her or his own energy or resources. Do you remember the vision of the milk being poured into the glass? The contents in the glass are for our refreshing, and whatever spills out is for the refreshing of others.
Interestingly enough, a well-watered garden will grow both vegetables and flowers, as well as weeds. The weeds like water too! So, while we wish we didn’t have to contend with weeds, those nasty things enjoy the same benefits that cause growth as our healthy plants do. Weeds love nutrients in the soil, earthworms aerate the soil for good growth, sunshine, and water.
So, how can we be sure we’re removing weeds? What might soul-weeds look like? The biggest weed I can think of is unforgiveness. That weed alone can cause other weeds to grow alongside it such as bitterness, anger, lack of humility, or an unteachable heart. Therefore, weeding of the soul would look like asking God to examine our hearts.
God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares. See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting way—the path that brings me back to you.
(Emphasis mine, Psalm 139:23-24 The Passion Translation, TPT).
We don’t always remember that holding onto sin or soul-weeds causes us pain. Sometimes the sin is so familiar and comfortable that we hesitate to remove it. If only we knew the freedom that lies beyond repentance. God knows the freedom that waits, but the enemy does everything possible to keep us from seeing the pain and destruction.
I want to invite you to a soul-weeding session today. It’s not hard to accomplish and you’ll feel so much better afterward. Please find a few minutes to pray through the two verses I mentioned, then listen. God in His loving faithfulness will show you the weeds, help you repent, and remove them. Then He’ll give you times of refreshing.
And now you must repent and turn back to God so that your sins will be removed, and so that times of refreshing will stream from the Lord’s presence.
(Acts 3:19 TPT)
May you be refreshed today, even right now!
I want to invite you to our next prayer call. We’ll be meeting by Zoom on Tuesday, April 26th from 6:30 to 7:30. Please save that time on your calendar and I’ll send the Zoom link closer to the time. To receive email communications, click here and sign up!
