Another morning where one of my devotionals, one I have read many times, jumps out at me in a new way.
This devotional from the book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young says in part "I have planted Peace in the garden of your heart, where I (Jesus) live; but there are weeds growing there too: pride, worry, selfishness, unbelief. I am the Gardener and I am working to rid your heart of those weeds." It goes on to say, "When you trust in me in the midst of trouble, Peace flourishes and weeds die away."
This morning I wrote the following at the bottom of this page; "I wonder as I read this, what are the weeds in my own heart that I fail to recognize as weeds." I think one of our human weaknesses is to deceive ourselves about our own personal weeds, thinking thoughts like "I would never be that way", I would never think those kinds of thoughts", I would never treat anyone that way".
There is a lot of deception in the world, and much of it is so cleverly thought out and manuvered that we don't even realize we are being deceived. We hear all the time about scams and think to ourselves "How could anyone ever be drawn into that". But we don't think much about our own personal deception, not so much toward someone else, but our deception to ouselves.
How often do we rationalize our thinking, excuse ourselves into believing our own thoughts, actions, or even inactions, convincingly believing those thoughts or actions are ok? Worse yet, how often does it happen so naturally that we are not even aware of it? We have perhaps done it, thought it, or felt it so many times that those weeds in our hearts grow pretty flowers on top as their root system underneath is growing, spreading, and flourishing there until one day it manifests itself as a hardened heart.
Let us pray that the Gardener comes and helps us face the reality that it's time not only to till the weeds out of our garden, but to get down on our knees, put our hands down into the dirt of our lives, and one by one do the hard work of pulling those weeds and tossing them into the fire of repentance where they belong.
Weeds are the one thing in the garden that seem to survive anything. Whether it's bugs, or weather, or anything else, the weeds survive. We simply must have the discipline and do the hard work to rid "the garden or out hearts" of those weeds so the plants that produce food and flowers for our bodies and souls can flourish.
Deception in the world today is taking root deep in the hearts of many. On the surface it can look like a beautiful field of flowers, but the flowers of weeds can easily choke out the flowers of Peace as its root system permeates the world around us. The evil one is much more clever than I am. I invite the Gardener in to guide and encourage me to get down on my hands and knees and do the hard work so that I don't develop a hard heart, especially through my own personal deception.
If I am to grow fruits, let them be the Fruits of the Spirit (Galations 5:22-23). Therin lies the Peace that is planted in the garden of our hearts.
And that is "As I See It - Fow What It's Worth.
Blessings <><
David Butler
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