“But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” ~ Matthew 13:25
REFERENCE:
Matthew 13:24-28
So many years ago, I found myself in a very foul mood, feeling so depressed, as though I was under a thick blanket of gloom. I knew something was wrong, and I soon tried to find the root cause; then, I remembered that my boss had said something hurtful to me during the day. I hadn’t thought so much of it then, but unconsciously, it later fouled my mood.
After that experience, I learned that I should address negative words spoken to me by men or whispered into my mind by the devil. Words are seeds, and they bear fruits after their kind. Negative words seep into the heart and can cause great distress, discouragement, and anxiety; they can put you in a state where you think you neither have worth nor a future to live for.
In Jesus’ parable, He pictures a man who sowed good seeds in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came to sow tares. The soil is your mind, the good seeds are words that edify and speak of God’s love, and the tares represent negative words that come to rob you of your self-worth. You must learn to identify the words that the enemy injects into your mind if you want to live in victory over worry. You must be skilled at identifying ‘tares’ and quickly uprooting them.
Have tares been sown in the soil of your mind? Are tares presently growing in the soil of your mind? Have the tares already choked the good seed of God’s word and love from your heart? The reason you are always worrying, moody, and nervous is because you have allowed an enemy to sow tares in your mind. But through self-reflection, as I did years ago, you can identify the tares – negative words spoken by a boss, spouse, friend, customer, or ex-wife or husband. This self-awareness is the first step in reclaiming your peace and joy.
A good gardener knows that his primary responsibility for seeing his good seeds come to fruition is to constantly pull out the weeds (tares) and nurture, fertilize, and water his good seeds. That is the only way to have a beautiful garden with lovely flowers and a sweet scent. The same is true for you and me; to have a beautiful life and to declare war on worry and anxiety, you must learn to arrest, neutralize, and uproot negative words from your mind and heart.
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL TEXTS:
II Corinthians 10:3-5, John 10:4-5, and Romans 8:33-35
PRAYER:
+ Lord, give me the discernment to identify the tares the enemy tries to sow in my mind and the discipline to be quick in uprooting them.
+ I ask for vigilance at all times, lest the enemy takes over the garden of my life with tares.
+ I water and nurture God’s good seeds in my heart and mind. I will see the fruits of God’s word and promises in my life, in Jesus’ name.
