Weeds in the shade

     We are like plants bursting forth from the soil seeking to be trees. We need our water and our sunlight. Or we will parish, and we can't have one without the other and survive. All water and no sunlight and we drown. All sunlight and no water and we dry up. Now the only water that brings us true life is the living water and the sunlight that we need to take in is His love, but there's a problem. In our lives weeds tend to pop up and sometimes clouds block out the sun. Now the difference between us and plants is that we are not immobile. We have the choice to allow the weeds to take up all of our water or to sit in the shade and not take in His love.

Weeds

they come in two forms

Bad/parasitic Relationships and Addictions

Both of these things can suck the life out of you

we get so consumed in these kinds of things

trying to fix a bad or parasitic relationships

or trying to fit God into the cracks of the time that we have left over after our addictions

whatever they may be 

these things squeeze the life out of us

Addictions especially

when we think of the word addiction we usually jump straight to big things

like drugs

sex

porn 

things like that

. . . but have we considered . . .

Work?

Video Games?

Money?

we can go on and on with a list of things we become addicted to

things that aren't necessarily bad until we become so consumed in them

when they become our identity

when we treat weeds like water 

we always end up dry

I'm reminded that in Psalm 1 

God inspires the writer to say that the one that is blessed 

is the one who delights in Gods word

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that bears fruit in season

and whose leaf doesn't wither 

whatever he does prospers

but often we get so caught up in all of our weeds and stay there

Shade

Now this can come in the form of haters

these people don't just want to take from you

they want to make sure you don't get

sometimes we allow haters into our lives

people who try to talk us out of the things of God constantly

and the longer we stay under them we find ourselves drifting from God

They don't always appear as an enemy; in fact, they will appear as a best friend

someone who is completely okay with us being in sin simply because they walk in it too

they won't hold us accountable

they want to make sure that the light of God's love doesn't shine down into our lives

so that what is messy can be cleaned up

because they are afraid that if that happens

then they will feel be faced with their own sin

God calls us out of the darkness of the shade though

He calls us into marvelous light

so that He can shine into us and clean up the messes that we are

The encouragement I'd like to send your way is simply this

GET WATER AND SUNLIGHT

AT ALL COSTS

it may cost you a friend 

it may cost you an addiction

IT MAY HURT LIKE HELL IN THE BEGINNING 

BUT YOU WILL KNOW LIFE IN LETTING THEM GO!

TRUE ABUNDANT LIFE!

John:10:10 ¹⁰ A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.