Do you have weeds in your garden? I know I do. I live near
the Genesee River where the ground is moist, the perfect condition for Stinging
Nettle. I am not sure if they choke the life out of my flowers, but I do know
from experience that removing them is sometimes hazardous. Similar to
hypodermic needles, Stinging Nettle has fine hairs on their leaves and stems.
When they touch the skin, they release chemicals like acid, which, in most
cases, causes a burning and itching rash lasting for days.
Metaphorically speaking I often have weeds in my life that
choke the good things from growing and removing them is often painful. Yesterday,
a visiting pastor from Elim Bible Institute, told us about how the weeds come
into being and, believe me, it made sense. The devil discreetly whispers
questions to us; and when he does, the seed is planted if we think about what
he says, mull it over for a while, and eventually think it is true. It takes
root in our soul, and it chokes out the one thing we need in our lives:
thankfulness to God for his mercy, his love, his provisions, and his salvation.
One of the weeds the pastor mentioned was worrying. This is the seed of the
stinging nettle, which often takes root in my life.
I am a worrywart, born and raised to be one. My grandmother
worried herself to a weak heart, and my mother has had cause to worry most of
her life and has done it well. My heart is often wracked with worry. I take it
to God in prayer. However, when my prayers seem to go unanswered, I hear the
whispers of the devil saying, “He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t care about your
needs. Why should you bother praying when your prayers are really just hitting
the ceiling?” When I begin to think God isn’t listening to me, the whispered lies
of the devil plants seeds of doubt and they begin to take root.
The pastor mentioned the story of Jesus on the boat with his
disciples, and when a gale force wind caused the waves to fiercely crash
against the vessel, the disciples freaked out while Jesus slept on a cushion.
It isn’t much different from my own life. When life’s struggles become like
crashing waves against the security of my boat, my world, the seeds of doubt
are often planted. I wonder if God is somewhere else, asleep, not listening to
my needs. I question why he isn’t doing anything. My children are my greatest
worry, and I often question why they are still going through so many struggles?
I Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all of your cares on Him because He
cares for you.” When I allow the devil to whisper in my ear, “God, doesn’t care
about you. Nothing is happening,” I begin planting the seeds of doubt. I cannot
question his care in the midst of my storm. I have to have confidence in the
one TRUE fact: HE CARES FOR ME. There have been times when I have believed with
all my heart that he cares, and I have stepped out of the boat in faith knowing
he would answer my prayers, but when the devil whispered in my ear, the seed of
doubt planted; and I began to sink, sink, and sink further into my despair and
worry.
Yesterday, I learned a valuable tool for pulling the weeds
of doubt from my life. BE THANKFUL!!!! It sounds easy doesn’t it? It really
isn’t because sometimes the Stinging Nettle brushes against our skin releasing
its poison. BUT we must persevere. We must put on the gloves of the Holy
Spirit, and pull those weeds of worry and doubt from our life. Something
remarkable happens too. The darkness breaks, and God illuminates His truth to
all the seeds the devil has planted making you needlessly worry. The pastor said yesterday how thankfulness is
like an antibiotic. I thought about what he said and it makes sense.
Thankfulness heals the Stinging Nettle of doubt and worry in my life.
After the sermon yesterday, I started thanking God for the
positive in each of the situations I have been worried about when it comes to
my children. I felt a release. By thanking God, I began the process of cleaning
out my spiritual garden. I don’t know about you, but I want the garden of my
life to be beautiful. I don’t want Stinging Nettles being the only plant people
see in my garden. I don’t want to make it so no one wants to come near me for
fear of being stung by the nettles of my worry and doubt. I want my
thankfulness to God for his mercy, his love, and his salvation to be what
others see.
So be thankful today. Lift your eyes and give thanks to God
in the midst of your storms. Meditate on this verse today:
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord. And to sing praises
to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and
your faithfulness by night” (Psalm 92: 1-2).
I wake up at 5:00 A.M. to write before I head off to teach
at MCC. The morning I wrote this blog, I didn’t have time to post it, and it
didn’t matter because I like it to sit and marinate before I do. Later that
evening and the following morning, I understood the magnitude of why
thankfulness is important to our relationship with God and our mental
wellbeing. A colleague sent me a message putting me into a meltdown of fear,
anxiety, and worry. They may seem like synonyms for the same state of being,
but they are very different in my life. My fear is the heart palpitating feeling
of dread; my anxiety stems from my generalized anxiety disorder – it hits my
mind like a wave of panic and I feel like I am losing it; my worry is the nail-biting, pace the floor, I
don’t know what I should do feeling. The devil whispered in my ear that night.
I listened. I threw myself into an absolute tizzy, lasting for hours. I went to
bed spent and basically had thrown in the towel. I believed I didn’t hear the
voice of God in my recent decisions. I had missed the mark, screwed up, and
made a monumental mistake. One whisper planted the seed of doubt and fear in my
life. One whisper may have thrown my life off course. One whisper.
I prayed I would have clarity as I drifted off to what I
thought would be a fitful sleep. I swear I slept cradled in the arms of God
that night. In the morning, when my feet hit the floor, I began to thank God. I
thanked him for giving me the gift of teaching. I thanked him for the choices I
had made and how I knew they would stretch me beyond my imagination. I thanked
God His mercies are new every morning. Thanking God set me free from all my
doubts and worries. Thanking God helped me to see the whispered lies of the
enemy and, quite honestly, how he built his deception to be more of an issue
than it really was because he knew if I listened the Stinging Nettle would grow
in my garden and choke out the significant opportunities he has instore for me,
so I am thankful today for the lessons I learned this week. I am thankful I had
an opportunity to put them into practice.
If the devil whispers in your ear and plants seeds of doubt
and worry, or worse yet, Stinging Nettle, think of the good within the
situation. Ask God to give you new eyes. Even before He shows you the truth,
begin to thank Him. I promise you it will make a monumental difference both
spiritually and emotionally.
