Send to Kindleby Lisa Prysock
If you’ve ever helped maintain a flower or vegetable garden, you know how important it is to remove pesky weeds before they take over. The same is true for the garden of our hearts, souls, and minds. As I was weeding in my garden this week, I began to thank God for helping me to maintain the condition of my heart. The Bible says to guard our hearts, for the issues of life and death flow from our heart, and everything we decide to do or not do. Guarding our heart means to shield it from anything that is not life-giving or affirming to living a Christian life.
In the parable of the sower in Luke chapter 8, verses 5 through 8, the Word tells us the sower went out to sow, and some seed fell beside the road and was trampled underfoot and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky soil and withered. Some seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked out the seed. Other seed fell on good soil, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.
Spiritual weeds are like the thorns of this parable. They can choke out a good crop and take over a whole garden if left untended. The Bible also mentions briars and thistles. Spiritual weeds can come in many forms. We can have weeds which take the form of bitterness, unforgiveness, sorrow, anger, greed, lust, depression, negativity, disobedience…on and on the list goes. We are human and it’s natural to have feelings that aren’t always on the happy, positive side of things. Life can get us down. Circumstances can derail us. People can hurt us. However, leaving these mindsets growing in our hearts can choke out the Christian life.
Are we sowing or feeding discord? Maybe it’s time to put our words in check. Or, you may have heard depression is anger turned inside out. Are we growing depression by leaving unchecked anger building in our hearts? It is crucial to spend time in prayer and reflection, in reading the Word, and in examining our hearts to see what might be growing in our soil so we can determine the proper steps to deal with it.
Sometimes we can’t see the condition of our heart, but when we read the Word, it’s alive and it reads us. It can point the way to something unchecked in our thoughts or minds which we need to attend to. There have been times in my life when I had to make a course correction. I’m thankful for those times when the Holy Spirit led me to see something in my thoughts or deep in my heart which needed to be dealt with or removed from my attitude.
Weeding a garden can be hard work, but the benefits are huge. For example, one of the most difficult things to do has been forgiving those who have hurt me, intentionally or unknowingly. However, each time, I felt so much better when I made the choice to forgive. I felt set free to love the other person. Maybe we weren’t going to be best friends, but I didn’t feel like a prisoner chained to drink a cup that could poison my soul. I felt free to move forward without hindrance between the Lord and me. I felt free to remove negative thoughts and feelings from my heart and mind. I no longer had the burden of carrying that heavy load anymore.
I chose to have forgiveness, compassion, and understanding for the other person. I chose not to let the actions of others steal my joy. I’m not saying there weren’t time when I wrestled in prayer to come to that conclusion, but I have never regretted choosing forgiveness. Remembering we cannot receive forgiveness from the Lord if we don’t forgive those who have hurt us has always helped me ultimately make the right decision. Still, it’s hard work at times, but so beneficial. It’s a spiritual necessity.
My friend, I hope you and I will both remember to take time out now and then to be still in the presence of the Lord and allow Him to show us any weeds we need to pluck from our lives. What about you? Have you found a weed in your spiritual life that the Lord helped you remove? Perhaps your experience will help someone else, so don’t be shy. Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
Author Biography
Lisa M. Prysock is an award-winning, bestselling, Christian and inspirational author of 17 novels. She and her husband of more than 20 years reside in Kentucky. They have five children, grown.
She writes in the genres of both Historical Christian Romance and Contemporary Christian Romance, including a multi-author Western Christian Romance series, “Whispers in Wyoming.” She is also the author of a devotional. Lisa enjoys sharing her faith in Jesus through her writing.
She has many interests, but a few of these include gardening, cooking, drawing, sewing, crochet, cross stitch, reading, swimming, biking, and walking. She loves dollhouses, cats, horses, butterflies, hats, boots, flip-flops, espadrilles, chocolate, coffee, tea, chocolate, the colors peach and purple, and everything old-fashioned.
She adopted the slogan of “The Old-Fashioned Everything Girl” because of her love for classic, traditional, and old-fashioned everything. When she isn’t writing, she can sometimes be found teaching herself piano and violin, but finds the process “a bit slow and painful.” Lisa enjoys working with the children and youth in her local church creating human videos and plays or programs incorporating her love for inspirational dance. A few of her favorite authors include Jane Austen, Lucy Maude Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. You’ll find “food, fashion, fun, and faith” in her novels. Sometimes she includes her own illustrations.
She continues the joy and adventure of her writing journey as a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and LCW (Louisville Christian Writers). Lisa’s books are clean and wholesome, inspirational, romantic, and family oriented. She gives a generous portion of the proceeds to missions.
Discover more about this author at www.LisaPrysock.com where you’ll find free recipes, devotionals, author video interviews, book trailers, giveaways, blog posts, and much more, including an invitation to sign up for her free newsletter.
Links to Connect with Lisa:
https://www.facebook.com/LisaMPrysock
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00J6MBC64 (Find all of Lisa’s books on Amazon at this link)
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lisa-m-prysock
https://www.facebook.com/groups/500592113747995/ (Lisa’s Facebook reader & friends group)
