It’s first Sunday Hiker Devotional Day.
In the spring, hiking in the fields and woods is close to perfect. The grass is sprouting and turning the winter brown world fresh and green. The delicate wood anemones and twin leaf wildflowers pop up through last fall’s carpet of leaves and bloom at the first kiss of the spring sunshine. Walking through the fields and valleys is pleasant and easy. But then spring becomes summer, stick tights (beggar lice) and briers begin to grasp at your legs as you pass by. The weeds feed on the summer rains and gather strength as they grow taller and thicker until their leaves hide the beauty of the delicate flowers and obscure the paths. The easy walking of spring has passed.
Our Christian life can be that way. At the beginning, everything is clear and easy with the beauty of flowers along the path. But then we begin to let the weeds grow in our lives until we have to push and struggle through to find our way. We begin to take what we think is the easy way but often we end up in even thicker brier patches of trouble.
God doesn’t promise that walking the paths of our lives will always be easy. He does promise to be with us and guide us each step of the way. Weeds will grow, but the best weedkiller we have is the Bible and prayer.
Thou will make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11 (NAS)
Do troublesome or pesky weeds of life sometimes threaten to invade your spiritual garden? How do you weed them out?
Thanks for reading!
Comments 4
Good devotion, Ann! Ohh those pesky weeds that pop up just when we think our garden of life is perfect! We get those weeds of financial difficulties, (a blown tire, a major appliance that suddenly stops working…) Or weeds of sickness strike us or someone close to us. Weeds of distraction seem to flourish when a deadline looms. What a nuisance!
My best friend has a phrase that I’ve adopted. When weeds show up, she simple says, “But…God.” When doctors told her there was little hope she said, “but God can heal.” And He did! When income falls short of our needs, God provides. Always.
With prayer…and the faith that they’ll be answered, most weeds will turn into blessings. Maybe that’s why some of the toughest weeds have blooms, as a reminder that God provides.
Have a great week, Ann! It might be another scorcher, but at least it’s not snowing! 😉
2 Corinthians 5:7
Author
Love your friend’s attitude and solution to those weeds that do pop up in almost everyone’s life. But God… That sounds like the beginning of a devotional right there. Thanks for sharing that, Lavon.
And no, I don’t think we have to worry about snow this week. 🙂 I went blackberry picking with the kids last night and we about suffocated. No breeze at all. Today was much nicer.
I sure have and the only way I know to get the weeds out is pray, pray, pray.Not just words but a true prayer til I reach heaven.
The thing is, I know I always have the tools to use(prayer) , but being human, sometimes the weeds get higher than they should before I truly use it.
Thank you for this Ann.I can really relate.
Author
You’ve faced some of those tough life weeds, Lisa, but I know you’ve always gone after them with your prayer hoe. Pray, pray, pray is a good answer to most any problem and may the Lord forgive us when we say “all that’s left to do is pray.” The prayer should always been first.