Once there was a girl who really felt she was “in the zone” w/ God. Her faith was the strongest it had ever been. She belonged to two Bible study groups. Though not every day, she was praying more than she used to. She was proud that at least she was acknowledging God at some point every day even though more often than not it may only be a long sigh and whispered “Oh Lord” before dropping off to sleep at night.
Though she was feeling pretty good about her relationship with God, sadly she did recognize that her passionate desire to be in God’s presence every day had waned. It came easily back when that one crisis hit in her life. She was eager to fall at the Lord’s feet and just stay there, in His Word and in His presence.
Hmmm…funny how there’s a parallel between “crisis” and “spiritual growth.” That is, if you allow it to happened that way (that’s another blog).
Anyway, but now the crisis is over and life has evolved back to a new normal. The busyness and monotony of life spring up around you…kind of like weeds.
Then the girl had a bizarrely downer of a day. Oh, it started out okay…just like any other day. Stopped by the Starbucks for her usual, grabbed the Wall Street Journal from the security guard at the office. Checked her emails. Made a few calls. Then it was if someone “out there” began to chip away at her faith and peace.
In a matter of hours, the “shoe-in” job all of a sudden had the potential of being lost; the marketing momentum gained turned sour; the landlord began playing hardball with the lease renewal; and the pitch to a very promising client never materialized work.
The poor girl. She was feeling frustrated, angry and totally depressed.
“Why can’t it be easy,” she said to herself? “Why does it always have to be a struggle?”
Her response?
She left work at the end of the day and had a great dinner comprised of loads of comfort food and a drink. When she got home she was embarrassed to realize that her knee-jerk reaction was totally out of whack. Why didn’t she drop to her knees? How is it that her inner peace and faith got choked off so easily? Why was she so immediate in her anger?
In Matthew 13 Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seeds. So, about those seeds that fell among thorns…
…the seeds grew alright. These are redeemed seeds (lives) that heard and responded to the Word. They grew up and became sturdy. But, then the weeds of the “cares of the world” and the “deceitfulness of riches” came up around them and choked them down.
These Christians allowed themselves to grow up in the midst of all their cares and anxieties. And these concerns shaded them from the Son of God, and the lack of Light was preventing them from growing into maturity. Furthermore, the weeds around them were sucking the water out of the ground making it less available for them. The worries, riches and pleasures in life can suck the Christian life right out of us, leaving us drained, lacking inner peace and unwavering faith, and incapable of producing mature fruit.
The girl suddenly understood that the weeds around her were suffocating the Word within her and leaving her angry, bitter and depressed. God taught her that day that if she doesn’t draw from the water of Life on a daily basis Hell will have a field day with her spiritual confidence and choke her faith right out of her before she even realized it.
