“He grants peace within your borders; He fills you with the finest of wheat.” Psalm 147:14
“But while everyone was sleeping, the enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat.” Matthew 13:25
“And the cares of this world…choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22
Recently, in a hometown newsletter from back east, I read of a family with a sign at the front door of their home that reads: “Please ring doorbell. Then pull weeds until someone answers.”
How clever!
It is a privilege to go to the door of God’s throne room in humble prayer each day. The “ring” of God’s “doorbell” is the sound of your own welcomed voice saying, “I enter this door in Jesus’ name.”
But as we all know, God does not always answer immediately. So, until He finally does, we may wisely use the time of waiting to “pull weeds.”
What are these “weeds” we must pull while waiting on God to answer? They are “the cares of this world” – all the distractions that choke the Word of God and quench His Spirit in our lives. Incredibly, in today’s world, most of these distractions arise from the palms of our own hands!
And where do these “weeds” then begin to grow? They grow within the borders of our spiritual/emotional “gardens,” also known as our hearts and minds. Psalm 147:14 tells us that God desires to grant peace within these borders. But we must be continually pulling the weeds of worldly distractions from them. This is the only way to make room for growth of God’s “gift of finest wheat,” which, according to the psalmist, is PEACE.
Finally, it saves us much emotional despair to prevent the weeds from infesting our borders in the first place. We do this by not allowing ourselves to be spiritually asleep. In Matthew 13:25, Jesus warns us to stay alert. If we allow ourselves to fall asleep rather than remaining vigilant, the enemy of our souls sneaks in and sows weeds – weeds that take away our peace. Being fast asleep, we are not even aware of when and how it happens. Then comes the added confusion of wondering, “How did this happen to me?” And “Why is this happening to me again?”
Jesus has promised, “Knock and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). So, keep on knocking! (Praying!) He will eventually open the door!
In the meantime, as you “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), keep glancing at the sign on God’s front door that reads, “Ring the doorbell in Jesus’ name. Then pull weeds until I answer.“