Why the Weeds?

“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, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’  ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling up the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest…At that time…First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” Matthew 13:27-30.

This passage really sent an arrow to my heart this morning.  Those servants had such hopes for the field, and saw such promise for the yield only to be discouraged at the sight of weeds.  Their hearts sunk for they had seen the good that their master had sown.  It didn’t make sense that there would be weeds in the field.  They had told themselves a million times that if they did everything right they could avoid the weeds.  They never anticipated that an enemy would enter and purposely create devastation.  To add insult to injury, they had a plan to remove the weeds but the master allowed the weeds to remain.  His rationale was logical but the servants still feared and questioned the outcome.

When evil overtook my daughter’s life with drugs, weeds were planted through the night.  I didn’t see the craftiness of the planting and was shocked when the reality broke through.  I ran to God on so many occasions questioning Him, ‘God, aren’t you a good sower?  Why am I going through this pain?  Why are you allowing this?’  Instead of allowing my faith to grow alongside my circumstances, I responded in fear and watched the weed grow instead of the wheat.  My fear choked out any and all spiritual growth that could have come in for the harvest.  Thankfully the Sower kept planting and called me to join Him in the field.  We knelt together and I watched how perfectly things grew in Him.  I didn’t even notice that weeds were being sown again… In 2008 our reality was grueling…my sister’s bile duct cancer…my dad’s prostate cancer…my father-in-law’s Alzheimer’s;  so many weeds, but so much wheat and yield to be seen.  Because my focus had been on God this time there was much growth in my faith.   I could see the blessings that were presented along with the pain through the Body of Christ.  He allowed the adversity to remain so that my faith might grow, and be a testimony to His message for others.  At the proper time, He removed my adversities and the harvest was awesome.  He burned up the fleshly things I had been allowing to rule in my heart.

How many times have we questioned why God has allowed our circumstances to take root in our lives?  God allows adversity to grow alongside our faith.  We must not take matters into our own hands when dealing with adversity, but be patient and confident in the growing process.  ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’ Gal 6:9.

Although the master did not send the adversity for the servants He allowed the adversity to remain in the field for the benefit of the harvest.  Our adversities can be treacherous and life altering on many levels, but we must go through the winter protected by His covering to reap the blessings of the spring.