Is your life producing the good fruit that the Lord desires of you? Are you enjoying the benefits of the Word of God growing and thriving in your life on a continual basis? If not, then perhaps it’s time to get rid of the weeds that have grown up in your heart.
What do I mean by weeds?
In Mark 4, Jesus tells the “Parable of the Sower,” in which He describes four types of soil: (1) hardened soil; (2) stony soil; (3) thorny (or weedy) soil; and (4) fertile soil.
The soil represents the hearts of those in whom the seeds (Word of God) are sown.
The Lord wants each of our hearts to be the rich, fertile soil that will bring forth much fruit for His kingdom, like He talks about in Mark 4:8 MSG: Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.
But sadly, most of the time we Christians fall into categories other than the good soil. And most of us are in the thorny soil category – the soil that is filled with all sorts of weeds.
Mark 4:18, 19 MSG says, The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.
What are the weeds that so easily choke the Word of God out of our hearts?
I like the way The Amplified Bible says it in verse 19: Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.
Basically you can break “weeds” down into two different categories: cares and distractions.
I’ve never been much of a worrier. Yes, I’ve had my share of problems and stresses to worry and be anxious about, but for the most part, I’ve always been able to cast those over onto the Lord and go on with my life.
But distractions, on the other hand…well, let’s just say I’m very easily distracted. (Before I got married, my initials were A.D.D.)
I don’t know about you, but I can open up my laptop to look up one little thing on the internet, and an hour and a half later, I can’t remember what I was looking up or if I even did look it up.
Emails, tweets, facebook posts, blog posts, news, the latest Hobbit trailer, baseball division race standings (I swear, as soon as I typed this, I went online to see what time the Atlanta Braves game was coming on tonight!). There’s so much information at my fingertips that I tend to get very sidetracked. My brain gets cluttered with all the things I have to do, should do and want to do.
It’s the same for many other Christians. If we are not careful, we will allow the cares of life (problems, circumstances, trials, etc.) or distractions (entertainment, the drive to succeed, the quest for knowledge, etc.) to clutter our minds and even become weeds in our hearts. These weeds will eventually choke the Word of God out of our hearts.
That is why we have to be intentional with God’s Word – we must put it in our hearts on a daily basis. But we must also be intentional about keeping God’s Word in our hearts. We have to water it, nurture it, tend it, and attend to it. His Word is our very life (Phil. 2:16).
We need to be able to discern what things to keep in our lives and what things need to be weeded out. Obviously, cares, worries, and anxieties ALL need to be weeded out. If you have worries and concerns that you need to deal with, please read: How to Live Worry Free, or What to Do When Your Heart is Overwhelmed. Get rid of those weeds because they will allow fear to consume you. Fear is the enemy of faith.
When it comes to the “distractions of this age,” you will need to allow the Holy Spirit to show you which things are legitimate, and which things are just stealing your time and robbing you of the benefits of God’s Word flourishing in your life.
The less cluttered your heart is, the more sensitive you will be to the leading of the Spirit of God. And the more sensitive you are to Him, the more fruit you will produce in your life.
Your heart can be the rich, fertile soil that the Lord desires it to be. It can bring forth a harvest of good fruit for the kingdom of God. But you will have to maintain the soil. You will have to water it, feed it, and nurture it. And you will have to get rid of the weeds of cares and distractions on a continual basis.
I have just recently discovered your blog and I have enjoyed your writings very much! Thank you for sharing.
I too struggle with distractions in my life that can keep me from focussing on the important things. Thank you for the reminder and encouragement.
Michele
Thank you so much for your kind words, Michele. I’m so glad you’ve been encouraged (and that I’m not alone in being easily distracted. Lol.). God is so good! Have a blessed day, Alisha.
“I don’t know about you, but I can open up my laptop to look up one little thing on the internet, and an hour and a half later, I can’t remember what I was looking up or if I even did look it up.” Yep…been there…done that!
It’s time like that I wish I had back and PRAY I will use more fruitfully in the future! 🙂
Amen. Me too, Mindy! 🙂 Blessings to you today!
Fabulous post.
Thank you, Denise. Blessings!
Thank God for Holy Spirit who grants us self-control! It indeed is a gift…
Amen, Barb! Yes it is! Blessings, Alisha
I so often find that I have wasted time on the internet. Time I don’t have. Doing fairly meaningless things. I am trying to time myself-no more random browsing.
Have a wonderful day!
Yes, I’m also trying to work with a time schedule. Kind of hard for me though! 🙂 Blessings, Alisha
Oh the distractions! I’m the queen of getting distracted!
Ha ha! So am I, Mary Beth! 🙂
Sooo true!! Such a GREAT reminder that we all needed 🙂
Thanks, Kim! This was a reminder for *me* as I was writing. Sometimes, we have to teach/preach to ourselves, right?
nice post thanks for sharing..found you thrue other bloggers hope visiting more..blessings
Thank you for visiting. Blessings to you, too! 🙂
Sometimes even good things can be a huge distraction for me. I think finding a balance is a constant struggle for many women, especially mothers!
Yes, so true, Jenni. Blessings!
I loved this! God had really been speaking to me latley about getting rid of the weeds in my life and focusing more on Him. Your post just helped bring confirmation to that. Thank you so much for linking up at Leaving A Legacy this week! I hope to see you again next week!
Blessings~
Shari
Amen. I love that! He must become our main focus! Blessing to you, Shari!
First of all, thanks for linking up at Thrive @ Home! Secondly – this is such a timely post for me! Oh, I have been so distracted. My best friend has been tied up in a legal battle. I am praying with and for her while trying to help raise money for her attorney…. I find myself growing fearful rather than trusting and seeking God. Thank you for this reminder.
It’s so easy to allow ourselves to get distracted, isn’t it? We have to be constantly vigilant. Blessings to you Audra!
Whew! Timely post for me as well. This fall, my kids are more involved in activities than ever. I am just distracted by constant go, go, go! Thank you for this challenging word. I am taking it to heart.
Thank you for visiting, Becky. I pray that you will be able to carve out your own time to be alone with the Lord each day, even in the midst of this busy season of life. Blessings to you!
Hi Alisha – I’ve decided to take as my verse today – Mark 4:19 (AMP) So thank you. Blessings Terri, following you on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest from below. I hope we can stay connected as we share and help through Jesus all over the world. Blessings Terri
My blog is http://morningdewdrops.com
FB page is http://www.facebook.com/MorningDewdrop1
Twitter is https://twitter.com/MorningDewdrop1
Pinterest https://pinterest.com/MorningDewdrop1
Thanks for visiting, Terri! Your blog is great! I’ve just started working with mixed-media art, so I’m sure I’ll be visiting often for inspiration. Thanks for the follows, I’m happy to follow you as well. Blessings to you! Alisha
Alisha,
It’s as if your post were placed in front of me at the exact time I needed to hear it’s message. There are so many distractions in our world, what with elections, debates, and all the crazy media that surrounds it all. Twitter, Facebook, and TV have started to grow tangled weeds in the fertile soil that is meant for my Heavenly Father’s manna. Thank you for this powerful post! I am incredibly grateful that I found you on NOBH.
Love and God Bless,
Christy
Praise God! I love how He works! Thank you for visiting, Christy. Blessings to you! ~ Alisha