As believers in Christ Jesus, we face many obstacles and challenges. Often the blatant upfront attacks are easier to handle because we are prepared for them. If the enemy has an atheist proclaim us as foolish for believing in the Lord, most of us are unmoved. If a stranger calls us a name while in traffic, we may initially become angry, but ultimately we recognize these as spiritual attacks. We know that these are distractions that the enemy sends to try to take us off focus or to steal our witness. Unfortunately, when the enemy uses more subtle tactics, we are sometimes thrown off balance. One of his favorite tactics is to plant something in us at an early age, which then becomes a familiar, constant companion as we grow and mature. It becomes so familiar that we fail to see it as being a weed from the enemy and instead internalize it as a part of our being.
Matthew 13:24-30 NIV
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
In this passage, Jesus tells the parable of the weeds. Note the man initially sowed good seed, but while everyone was sleeping an enemy sowed weeds. We know the man sowing the good seed represents the Lord and the enemy sowing the weeds represents the devil. So often, while we are unaware or spiritually asleep, the enemy sows “weeds” into our lives. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a “weed” as “an herbaceous plant not valued for use or beauty, growing wild and rank, and regarded as cumbering the ground or hindering the growth of superior vegetation... An unprofitable, troublesome, or noxious growth.”
So, the enemy sows those things into us that are not fruitful, that are wild and rampant, and that hinder the “good seed” that the Lord has sown. Note the weeds did not fully reveal themselves until the true harvest was coming forth. The enemy likes to come in gradually—instead of bursting into our lives out in the open where we can easily recognize him; he usually creeps in subtly and over a period of time. He likes to use a process. We must remember he is not just trying to damage us—ultimately his goal is to destroy us. So, weeds are often sown early and then the enemy attempts to orchestrate circumstances to cultivate or encourage the growth of the evil seeds he has sown. Therefore, we find ourselves gradually sinking lower and lower into his traps. Our descent often occurs in steps downward until we are so far from the will of God for our lives that it seems impossible to recover.
The Lord did not create us to be victims, hiding in the shadows plagued by fear and at the mercy of our enemy. Besides, our enemy has no mercy—his very purpose is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). God created us to be mighty conquerors. His will is that we walk in the fullness of His liberty and be empowered to snatch others out of bondage as well. To make this transformation from victims to victors many of us will have to confront and conquer the subtle attacks of the enemy.
God desires to deliver us from bondage. He wants to heal our hearts and minds and to pluck up the weeds. Often in the healing process, God has to re-open the wound, so He can clean out all the bacteria preventing healing (i.e. offence, un-forgiveness, bitterness, anger, disappointment, etc.). Many times we can’t get healed because we want God to put a small bandage on a gaping wound, so we can pretend we are alright. But true healing is work. It requires confronting the hurt and truly assessing the full damage it caused. It requires laying our hearts open and transparent before the Lord and allowing Him to pluck out everything that is not like Him. It requires confronting our pain and then walking beyond it, so that it no longer has a hold or grip on us. We have to: (1) confess our struggles to the Lord; (2) acknowledge the impact we have allowed it to have upon us and even our relationships with others; and (3) renounce it and break agreement. But even after that process, whenever it tries to re-enter our lives, we have to stand firm and resist it.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” –John 8:36 KJV
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