Keep Picking the Weeds
I wipe the sweat from my forehead with my dirty hands as I look on with a feeling of accomplishment. In the ground before me is a small square of tilled-up dirt that, Lord willing, will soon flourish with green plants bearing delicious tomatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, green beans, and many other healthy vegetables for my family to enjoy. Should the garden bear much fruit, we will freeze or can the extras to provide food throughout the year.
To give the plants the best opportunity to grow and thrive, I pull the weeds that steal vital nutrients from the soil. Then, I cover the exposed dirt with compost and leaves that will help prevent new weed growth and retain moisture in the ground. Since I've removed the existing weeds and provided mulch to suppress any future weeds, I shouldn't have to worry about seeing them in my garden for the rest of the year.
I wish.
Actually, all I've really done is slow the process down. After a good rain and a few days of sunshine, the weeds will relentlessly return. I must remain diligent each week to pull up these fresh intruders trying to make their way into my garden. If I don't persevere in this tedious task, then it will only take a short time for the weeds to overtake my defenseless soil. I wish fighting weeds were a one-time job each year, but unfortunately, it's an ongoing battle.
Moving Toward Disorder
In science class, I learned at a young age that things tend to move toward disorder. No matter how well you spring clean your house, it's only a matter of time before it’s dirty again. (If you have four children, it's only a matter of minutes!) A recently cut lawn satisfies for a moment, but it will need a fresh cut in a week. The clean smell of new construction will eventually be replaced with an ever-present mildew smell that requires renovations. And no matter how weed-free your garden is at the beginning of spring, you will soon be on your hands and knees fighting a battle that seems never-ending.
Likewise, the same move toward disorder is true in our spiritual lives. We don't naturally move toward godliness, and our battle against sin doesn't go away at the moment of conversion. It's an ongoing war that we'll fight the rest of our lives. Like the relentless weeds in the garden, sin continues to infiltrate our lives.
Scripture encourages us to keep fighting this battle and to “make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Rom. 13:14). Jesus encourages us in our daily prayer to ask God for forgiveness (Matt. 6:12), knowing that we will need his grace and mercy against a difficult enemy. A season of slacking against our fleshly desires will produce a life full of unwanted weeds, stealing the goodness and life we need to thrive.
Power For The Battle
Just the thought of picking weeds saps my strength. It's not overwhelming in the early spring when temperatures are cooler, but as the summer heat intensifies, there are a thousand other things I'd rather do than spend time in the garden picking weeds—all of them in the air-conditioned indoors. Oftentimes, I simply don't feel motivated to keep fighting the weeds.
Thinking about the inevitability of the battle against my sin also tempts me to give up. I know sin will rear its ugly head ready for war; it's just a matter of time before another temptation calls out to my weak and weary flesh. Such battling, especially when it involves the same sin over and over, can lead to discouragement. The never-ending struggle can make us weary to the point where we lose our resolve to persevere.
While I don't have supernatural help to fight the weeds in my garden, I do have such a helper in my war on sin. God has promised the Helper, and it is “by the Spirit” that we put to death our sinful deeds (Rom. 8:13).
I can't do it on my own. You can't do it on your own. But the power to overcome temptation has been provided, which is why Paul encourages us to “walk by the Spirit.” As we walk in the Spirit, we will not give in to the temptations of the flesh. Paul explains: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other” (Gal. 5:16–17).
This doesn't mean the battle will be easy. It will require diligence, patience, self-control, and a daily dependence on the Holy Spirit. But the worst thing you can do is give up. As discouraged as you may be, the fact that you are still fighting is a sign that the Spirit of God is working in you. Keep picking the weeds and trust that the fruit will follow.
In this life, you’ll continually need to clean your house and mow your lawn. If you grow a garden, you'll repeatedly need to pick weeds even when you don't feel like it. And, if you want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, you'll constantly have to wage war on your sin. Thankfully, we do not have to fight alone or in our own power. “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57).
Brothers and sisters in Christ, keep up the fight and never stop picking the weeds.