Be Careful Where You Till (A Flourish Devotional)

As I walk my dogs each morning, I pass a rose bush. Earlier in the spring, the bush budded with coral blooms, a beautiful sight, indeed. However, a broadleaf weed began to grow at the base of the bush. As each week passed, the weed grew taller and my dislike for it grew with it. The weed is now taller than the rose bush by at least 2 feet and is almost as tall as I am.

To be quite honest, every time I pass it, I want to cut it down. Yet, I have a problem: the weed and the bush are growing in my neighbor's yard three houses down. Let me tell you, if they were in my yard, the weed wouldn't have survived a week.

One morning last week, I passed the odd combination of plants, and the Lord said to me, "It's not your weed to kill. Every plant, no matter how beautiful or distasteful, has its purpose in my Kingdom." I heard what He said, but I didn't want to receive it.

Curiosity drove me to the internet to find out just what this weed, a.k.a, plant, might be. I discovered that it is called "Common Mullein" and actually has a variety of medicinal purposes, among other things. As it happens, the taller it grows, the more beautiful it becomes, as small, yellow flowers begin to appear as it reaches its maximum height. In my mind, pretty flowers or not, it was still just an overgrown weed.

You can only imagine the mixed feelings that followed. "But, Lord," I said, "it's such an eyesore! Why do they let it grow like that? Won't it hurt the rosebush? I wish I could cut it down!" But, as He always does, the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit came and changed my point of view.

You see, as we discovered earlier this week, "trials till the soil of our souls so that the seeds of faith fall on fertile ground and take root." However, your trials are not the same as mine and vice-versa. The journey to our growth is individual, not collective, although you and I may be receiving the same message. The important thing to remember is this: we cannot till land that does not belong to us.

Jesus likened our hearts to that of soil in Luke 8, the Parable of the Sower. We will pick it up in verse 11:

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest. (Luke 8:11-15, NLT)

Most of us can quickly determine the nature of the soil of our own hearts. We'd like to say we are all "good soil." But, the reality is, many of us are still tilling our land, moving through trial after trial, ripping up weeds, planting new seeds and praying for growth.

I'd ask you to consider this, however: how many times have you looked at the trials in someone else's life and seen the hard ground, rocks, thorns and weeds? Have you felt like me and wanted to take charge of their lives and either turn them around or save them altogether?

You and I have no right to remove the obstacles in somebody else's life just because it makes us uncomfortable.

We are exhorted by the Apostle Paul, ". . . you must continually work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for God is the One Who works in you, both to determine and to work, for His good pleasure.(Philippians 2:12b-13, The One New Man Bible, emphasis mine). My spiritual mama and counselor puts it like this: "Each one of us is working out his own salvation and deliverance." 

Just as Jesus likens our lives to the farmer's field, you and I can look at the landscape of our lives and realize that we have enough of our own tilling to do. We lack the time and energy to till someone else's. While it is important to come along side each other and lend a helping hand, ultimately, we are each responsible for the fruit in our lives. Only by walking with Jesus can we weather the storms, endure the trials and yield the harvest He has commissioned us to cultivate.

My point is this, whatever thorn or weed I see in my sister's life that makes me squirm and feel the need to remove, the reality is that she needs to work that ground with God, and I need to see her do it. Both of us will see the glory of God manifested in her life and the promise of His faithfulness fulfilled. We overcome by the "blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony" (Revelation 12:11). Sometimes, we need to allow the ones we love to endure pain, heartache, disappointment, sorrow, loss and devastation so that we all may rejoice in knowing that God is sovereign regardless of how ugly things look.

The Lord says to Hosea in Chapter 10, verse 12, "I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’" (NLT)

There are two ways to look at this verse, as we close. First we can identify "the hard ground of our hearts" to be the rocks, thorns and weeds that are left in our lives by a prior generation, placed by our own actions and choices, or allowed to exist because God has something to teach us. 

However, I'd like you to focus on a different part of the verse, "for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you."

The thought I'd like to leave you with is this:  The trials in our lives are appointed by God. There is no hair on your head that He does not know (Luke 12:7), nor is there a trial or challenge in your life that is unforeseen (Jeremiah 1:5, Ephesians 1:4). God chooses when to allow the trials in our lives because He is ready to do a work in us. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), so do not misunderstand me. Your path, your journey, your purpose, is entirely ordained and orchestrated by your Father in Heaven, to include when and where He chooses to grow you. 

As I said before, you and I can choose how we will receive the trials in our lives. We can allow our ground to remain hardened, full of fear, bitterness, unforgiveness and the heavy stones of unrepented sin. We can allow the thorns and weeds to grow, as improper thinking, willful ignorance and inappropriate relationships choke out the good seed that has been sown into our lives. 

Or, we can embrace the love of the Father, as He uses trials, purposely and carefully crafted, to grow our character, secure our foundation and allow the seeds of faith to flourish.