September 20, 2010

Help!!! My Garden Is Full Of Weeds. Huh?, Not Wheats......Weeds.

It was a sunny and awesome Saturday morning. A day that the Lord has made. The noise of lawn mowers and other garden motor equipments brought me out into my garden. I knew my gardener was around. I was looking at my lawn, infested with weeds and as I was trying to pull one out, I heard him say. "Mr. Caleb, these weeds always come out around this time of the year, they are hard to root out sometimes unless you have prepared the ground before they sprouted up or unless you are willing to root them out by hand"  What do you mean they are hard to uproot?,

that's one word I don't like hearing, that something can't be done or it's too hard. That always prompts me to try and get it done. It was irritating just seeing them there and this fella is now telling me to relax and enjoy the "ugly" sight. Some things I can endure, some I just can't tolerate. This is one of those I will NOT tolerate....Oh Lord NO. It will have to be war. This MY yard not the weeds', I can't allow that. I need help and I need it NOW :-)

My gardener was telling me to ignore them and that they will eventually die away and the grass will take over. That did not sit well with me. Why would I allow such ugliness to take over my yard.and destroy the beautiful lawn I have labored to keep beautiful? why should I put up with looking at ugly weeds on my lawn for as long as the weeds desire? No way. So, After my gardener left, I decided to attack these things myself, I could no longer stand seeing it. Seriously, I could not stand it. I went into the garage and brought all the available garden tools I have...Weed killing sprays, gloves, etc.

So I started uprooting these weeds, as I was doing that, I began to get stirred in my spirit. I knew this is the Lord prompting me. I have learnt to relax and be still whenever I sense HIM trying to get my attention, and so HE began. "I have been waiting to see when you'll come and learn these things." Learn what? I asked. He said, "to deal with the weeds in your life." I knew the Lord wasn't talking about the weeds in the garden. He was talking about my personal failures, weaknesses and shortcomings. Hmmmmm. I love it when God corrects me, because he does it in such a way that I will not feel like he scolded me and he makes sure I get the lesson.

"When uprooting the weeds in your garden", He began, "you can do it by hand or by using chemicals. When you are doing it by hand, the process is painful, but the result is INSTANT and long-lasting. When you use weed-killing chemicals, the process is easy, but the result is NOT instant and may not yield the result you desired, it may achieve your aim to kill the weeds, but might damage the good grass along the way. The question is which process do you want to use and are you willing to pay the price?."

Do you want to wait for the weeds to die in their season, which means you have to tolerate them for the whole season or you want them gone now by paying the price and go through the painful process to achieve long-lasting results?. Remember, when I say pay the price, I am not punishing you. The price is as a result of your choice. Always know that there are consequences for every choice made?"

" He reminded me "nothing worthwhile is achieved without paying a price."
Was that a trick question?, I asked in my mind, forgetting that I am dealing with my creator who gave me that mind. He answered "No, that wasn't a trick question. It's a valid question that you must face and answer....yourself."

He continued, "When uprooting by hand, you will find that there are some weeds that you can easily pluck off, some you will have to apply a greater force to uproot through the use of gardening tools. Some will look easy until you try uprooting them, then you'll find out that they will easily break off near the ground, but are still deep-rooted, then you know you'll have to apply the AVAILABLE garden tools. AVAILABLE here means according to the degree of your knowledge of my truths, who you really are in Jesus, my son, my grace upon your life, your understanding of my power that works in you and the request you asked of me through my words"

He then directed my attention back to the garden and continued "some will look hard until you make the effort to approach them, then you'll find out that they are nothing but bullies." He then asked me to pay attention here. "All the weeds in your life that looks big, tenacious, ferocious and whatever big name you might have assigned to them, are nothing but big bullies, they are very easy to deal with, you just have to know how."

He then proceeded to show me how to deal with the "weeds" in my life He said "here's how you deal with them, approach them with wisdom. When you are ready to uproot, don't apply force suddenly, remember my instruction to my servant Timothy, through my servant Paul;  "Lay hands on no man suddenly" is applicable to this situation. If you apply force to uproot the weed suddenly, you might fall back hard and great might be the fall,  or you might expend all your energy without achieving any result, but if you approach with caution, studying its terrain, you'll find out how strong or weak the weed is, in other words, wiggle the weed gently, if it is easy or the big bully, it will readily come out. If it doesn't come out easily, then apply force "according to the power that works in you."

I began to understand the parable of the weed now. The problems in our lives cannot be approached without adequate planning, praying, seeking God for wisdom as to handling and correcting the situation. If a person approaches a problem with sudden force, it might back fire and the situation of the person may be worse than before. You cannot uproot a weed without having something good ready to be planted in it's place. It is the law of Vacuum. Else, the weed will grow right back. God said in Jeremiah 1:10 when he instructed Jeremiah to "root out", he also told him right after that  "to build and to plant" Jesus used the parable of the man whom an evil spirit was cast out of, that he did not fill the vacant place and so the spirit came back , found it vacant and went and gotten more of its kind and the man's situation became worse than before.

God made me to understand that "Weeds feed off the same nutrients in the soil as the good grass."
that reminds me of the scripture that says "He makes his sun to shine on the just and the unjust."

He further explained to me that "the problems in a person's life feed off the same creative power I had given you. It is up to you to use the power in a way that is consistent with my will. If you just let your thought roam about without direction and purpose, you will see those thoughts manifested in your life, but if you deliberately direct the creative power in you to achieve a certain purpose, that's exactly what the power will do for you. The power in itself makes no decision for you, it only does what I have commanded it to do. To create whatever you have given to it. It knows neither good nor bad. It just creates."

As we continued our conversation, he taught me other things which I'll share in the upcoming weekly posts. He said the problem is that we have laid down too long and have forgotten who we are in him, his creative power of life that we have in us. That we are co-creators with him. He also explained exactly how the power works in us, He showed me the what, how, why and when, of  the reasons for the creation our body,  I do not want this post to be too long, but I will continue my conversation with God in the garden and what he taught me about who we really are next week Monday.

It's fascinating when you have an audience with God. You don't want him to stop speaking because every word he utters changes you completely. It's like sitting under a huge waterfall and the water just comes on you and washes you and refreshes you. there's nothing like the presence of God.

Friends, I realize that this post will not be complete without your comments and questions. Your comments and questions will also help me and others understand more of what I have learnt from God.

5 comments:

  1. Joshua--as I come to know you more, the following helps to describe you:-----------------

    " You are an amalgam of a thinker and a doer----a most unique commodity "

    Regards

    Barry Claridge

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  2. Thank you Mr Claridge...Your life experience is priceless to me. I regard you not only as a friend, but also as a father figure. I thank my heavenly Father for connecting me with you. My regards to your family.

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  3. Joshua can't wait until next Monday for the followup, awesome

    Rosalinda McCain

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  4. I too have learnt to be still, once I sense that the Lord is prompting my spirit about something. It hasn’t been easy, as previously I thought it was just me, but as I have drawn more closely to Him constantly, having a more intimate relationship with Him, I am getting better at hearing His voice, even in the busyness of the day.

    As an avid gardener, I enjoyed reading, your insightful article. God has spoken to me often, as I am busying myself in the garden, there is so much to learn as I observe the work of His hands.

    Recently, I have realised, not to approach problems or challenges with the sudden knee-jerk reaction of panic, which can lead to wrong decision making, but as you say to approach them with wisdom. That wisdom comes from an instant phone call to my Heavenly Father who will always give me a strategic plan of action, even if it may be a direction to stand still and do nothing, whilst he does His work!

    Joshua, you are a man after my own heart, this article was full of so much of what the Holy Spirit has been teaching me of late. I have been growing at such a rate, through diligently spending more time in the presence of the Lord. I am so excited, because at this moment, I firmly believe that The Lord has divinely connected me to your ministry, in order that He can load down more to me, through you.

    May God continue to increase you more and more as you share your revelations with His children.

    Blessings, Carole

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  5. @Carole:

    All I can say is wow!! and all I can do is wonder at the awesomeness of our God after reading your comment. He is truly the God that knows the end from the beginning. The Holy Spirit knows how to guide his children to where he wants them to be and I agree with you, when we take the time to know him, we will recognize his still small voice. Oh, what joy fills our hearts when he talks with us. It's amazing how he uses the mundane things to teach us the wisdom of life. He's worthy to be praised.

    I truly appreciate your taking time out to comment on the post and for encouraging me as well. The Lord continue to bless you abundantly. Have a wonder-full and wonder-filled day and weekend.

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