It happens every spring. After being ignored all fall and winter, my garden is full of weeds.
It’s uncomfortable to try and garden during cold and rainy days, so I just ignore the weeds until the sun begins to warm the earth. By that time, it seems like an impossible task to get rid of all of them, but I know from experience that I have to try.
As I sat in the dirt pulling up uncountable weeds this week, it hit me how representative weeds are to Satan’s work in our lives. We become complacent in our faith, and he uses any and every opportunity to get a “foothold in our “garden.”
Here’s what I mean:
- Weeds tend to mimic the plants they plan to choke out. It’s hard to differentiate between new seedlings and the weeds that try to overtake them. Am I pulling out something that will add beauty to my life or am I pulling a sneaky pest with plans of its own? I am always amazed at a weed’s ability to blend in with the surrounding plants. They seem to say, “Look at me, I’m just like you!”
That’s happened in my life too. People or groups surround me, and their belief system seems to be just like mine. It’s only by close scrutiny that I can see the differences that spell danger.
- Weeds can appear beautiful. Some weeds produce lovely flowers, and they fool me into thinking they’re harmless, or welcome even. Before long though, they overtake my garden and nothing of any true beauty can flourish.
How often have you met with a person or situation that seems innocent (or even beautiful) only to find out later that they threaten you, your faith, even your very life?
- Weeds may seem small on the surface, but underneath, their root system is long and established. Have you ever pulled on a tiny weed only to find that its root goes on and on? It seems almost impossible to rid yourself of the entire root system, because they snap and leave pieces behind.
A tiny misstep in our lives may seem like no big deal, but the root left behind lies waiting to grow again.
- Weeds send out runners. We’ve all left a perfectly weeded garden only to come back and find new weeds have popped up seemingly overnight.
Satan has runners everywhere. They travel far from the original “plant” ready to flourish when your back is turned.
- Weeds are great at hiding. I have found weeds underneath well-established plants.
I thought I could ignore those well-established parts of my life. They had grown strong enough to stand on their own without my constant care. It’s always shocking to find they are open to attack as well. Even the old and sturdy things in my life need my attention to stay healthy and pure.
- Weeds will grow anywhere. Weeds don’t expect the perfect environment. They will grow in the harshest of circumstances. Sometimes, we wait for just the right time and place to grow our faith. Not so with Satan. He’ll use any and every opportunity to attack.
As I pulled weed after weed, I wondered if I’d ever get them all. Sadly, I realized that the answer was “No”. I would never be done, but I could learn to control the attacks.
My advice is the same for weeds AND attacks from the evil one:
- Pull weeds as soon as they appear. Don’t let them get a foothold.
- Get to the root of the matter. What is really going on underneath?
- Be careful what you plant. What are you planting in your brain? What movies are you watching? What books are you reading? Who are you listening to?
- Don’t be influenced by beauty. We are surrounded by beauty nowadays. Social media is full of it in the form of homes, gardens, food, and people. There are even apps to make ugly things beautiful. Do not be fooled. Some of the beauty can hide the ugliest of secrets.
- Be vigilant. Don’t let your guard down. Be on the alert for those things that are harmful to you and your family. Keep pulling them out of your life. They will try to return and grow again.
If you search for how many times weeds (thorns, chaff, tears, etc.) are mentioned in the Bible, you will produce enough verses to keep you busy for a very long time. It seems my thoughts about weeds mimicking Satan (or evil) are not new. It’s a rabbit hole I plan to go down in the near future (pulling weeds as I go).
Matthew 13:3-9
“Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
PIN THIS!
Read more of Ann’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
