Seeds & Weeds In My Fields

Recently I’ve started my days in the book of Matthew.  I’ve been listening to those familiar parables many of us know & love.  It’s interesting how the Lord will spoon feed His stubborn children another full, satisfying meal using the very same words… only 10 years apart. Yet, He reveals completely new truths about Him & often about ourselves.  I used to believe that every passage had one specific truth & all who studied it would gather the same exact wisdom.  But reality began to sink in this morning that previously on my journey, the Father had led me to those familiar verses… He had quietly whispered a different nugget of wisdom, just as powerful… one that I had specifically needed for that time & place. Truth is… the time spent in His word today, digesting the meal He had prepared for me, will prove to be just as rich & refreshing, & is meant to give me new insight & discernment.  I am reminded that the truths I gained the first time were only tidbits of the wisdom He had in store for me. 

I had read it many times, contemplated its meaning, even meditated on this parable… the one beginning in Matthew 13:24. Jesus said the farmer had sown good seed. Then the enemy came in during the night & planted weeds while his servants were sleeping. When the servants found the weeds growing up along with the wheat, they asked the farmer if they should go out to the fields to pull up the weeds. But the wise farmer said they must wait, for in the process of removing the weeds, they might hurt the good seed too. He told them to allow the seeds & weeds to grow together… & when it was harvest time, the weeds would be removed first, & then the wheat could be safely gathered.

Isn’t this a great reminder of our everyday lives? Often I get so distracted by weeds the enemy has planted in my life that I spend all my time & energy trying to contend with them, instead of focusing on the good seed that the Father has planted around me & in me. How much joy have I forfeited being distracted from God’s best while trying to deal with a “weed or two”. I know one thing for sure, weeds can come in many sizes & varieties. Sad as it is, some weeds are planted in our lives in human form. And I admit, they can occasionally suck the joy right out of me. I allow them to distract me from enjoying the Father & celebrating His presence. Whether they show up in my neighborhood, my workplace, my church or my Facebook page, the Father wants me to turn my gaze away from them & back to Him. Some weeds are only revealed in my attitude, & often cause my heart to become “ugly as sin”… so to speak. I fail to recognize those weeds until I see them in the light, after spending much needed time with Jesus. But even “ugly” doesn’t always turn my eyes away immediately, & I can become bogged down in the muck of despair in a quick moment. (can anyone else relate?)  Oh yes… other weeds can be quite delightful to have around… & I tend to question my “good judgement”, thinking perhaps I am being too critical of something that appears to be harmless. (so not true) I admit right now that the enemy has become quite good at deceiving me like that.

Before I know it, especially on exhausting days, I’ve turned my gaze from what is “good seed”… those blessings from the Father that are meant to nourish my soul. Sometimes… I get so consumed with my efforts of “dealing with weeds” that I don’t even notice my appetite for God’s best is almost non-existent. This in turn, renders me quite apathetic to His loving invitation. He invites me to come alongside Him & experience the best He has planned for me on this amazing journey called life. Again, I confess that I too often feed my soul with the weeds… & I am left empty… & powerless… & useless to the One who has created me to be His hands & feet, right here in this hungry, starving-for-love world that I live in. How this must break my Father’s heart…

I’m convinced that few of us can be completely rid of the weeds in our own “fields” (and in our hearts) on a daily basis. Try as we might, the weeds will always be there & the enemy will always try to distract us from enjoying what the Father planted in advance. So starting today, & hopefully until Jesus returns, I will strive to carefully tend to His “good seeds”… and I will also strive to be grateful that He has generously planted such an abundance of them in my life.