Weeding out my "Faith Garden'

I have been thinking a lot about my faith and how it seems to wane back and forth like the moon at times. Especially in times of uncertainty. I even thought I love God very much, at times lately He has been the farthest from my mind, as my mind is taken over by worries and stresses.

I should know better not to worry about things, because the things that grip my heart are nothing but worries of this world. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-27

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

Matthew 6:25-27

Worrying and Fretting can be a tiresome thing. Something that eats away at a person from the inside out.

Psalms 37:1-3 says not to fret.

1 Do not fret because of evil menor be envious of those who do wrong;

2 for like the grass they will soon wither,like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Psalm 37:1-3

That means I am not to allow something to consume my mind. I am to just trust in the Lord, no matter how hard it is. I must trust.

A good friend of mine pointed out this piece of scripture, Psalm 55:22 when I was worried about a lot. It was a great comfort to read that.

Give your burdens to the Lord,and he will take care of you.

He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

Psalm 55:22

How many times have I in the last four months, forgotten the Lord standing there during my times of tribulation and worry as I feel over burdens with heavy things like money. Worrying about paying for things with only one paycheck. Worrying about having enough food in the house with two other mouths to feed. Worrying about having enough money to pay increasing bills. It seems all I have been doing is worrying that I am forgetting who I am. I am forgetting God in my life. I know I have to remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:34 during these times.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.

Today’s trouble is enough for today"

Matthew 6:34

Yet, I do worry about things I should not. I am a worry wart. I always have been to some point. But I had always had trust in God. The one thing I have noticed is worrying does affect the soil of my faith. I say that because my heart has been focused on Mark 4:1-20 because the affects of this world, has been starving my seed of faith. I am choked with thorns. As Jesus said in Mark 4:18-19

And others are the ones sown among thorns.

They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world

and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word,

and it proves unfruitful.

Matthew 4:18-19

My roots are deep in my love for the Lord, but the world has carefully wound thorns around my “faith” making me feel choked and uncertain about my faith. Even causing me to slack off on reading my Bible during the most important time, when I desperately need it.

Proverbs 12:25 warns what a worrying heart can do.

“Worry weighs a person down. . .”Proverbs 12:25

Jesus said to us in John 16:33

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

In all my worrying, I have allowed weeds and thorns to grow in my “faith patch” in my heart, preventing me to see things as God has made them before me. It is the thorns and weeds, that the enemy has sown in my “faith patch” as it is stated in the Bible in Matthew 13:24-28. I allowed the enemy to sneak in and plant things, that now have grown out of control, and now I am weeding it with the word of God.

24Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.

25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.

26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’

28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. . . .

Matthew 13:24-28

I must watch more carefully on what worldly things have access to my faith or as I have found out, how the enemy sneaks in plants negative things, things that are meant to harm us. I always remember God's word on His plans for us. My dear friend got me a key chain to never forget, in my times of uncertainty and doubt. My friend told me to look at it and read the inscription on it when I felt helpless and loss in my way with the Lord. It is Jeremiah 29:11. I always still tear up when I read it. It was given to me during a very hard time in my life and it was the most thoughtful gift I could ever receive.

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Keep the thorns and weeds out of your faith. I am currently weeding out my “faith garden” as I have become slack on its spiritual upkeep. And because I was sloppy and careless on my “spiritual” upkeep with my faith by not sticking to the Word of God when I needed it the most. I am now weeding out and chasing out the enemy from my “faith garden” in which should only hold things of God which are true and right. Not things of negativity or despair.

I know I must always temper the soil of my faith with God's word, otherwise, unsavory worldly items will sneak in and take root. It is just better to be cautious to know the current state of your faith's “soil” so that you will be fruitful as Jesus wanted, and not choked by thorns in this world.

Remember He said to take heart, He OVERCAME the world!

God bless.

Shattered Glass yet still whole

I was walking back to the office this afternoon, when I was talking to God and focusing on my faith and the issues at hand when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was some broken glass in a pile of dirt. I don't know why it caught my attention, but it did, as I walked by. Maybe it was the glitter of the broken glass in the sunny,December, cold air. What ever it was, I paused and went over and looked at it. And to my surprise and wonder, I saw a jagged diamond shaped piece of glass, that was whole yet, I could see it was completely fractured in a lace-like pattern. I gently picked it up, wondering what caused it, a ruined piece of glass, yet beautiful at the same time.

It was then when God spoke to my heart and told me that it doesn't matter how fractured it is, because it is still whole. Just like myself. I may struggle and feel very fractured in this world I live, yet no matter how hard it seems, I am still “whole” in God's eyes. It is God that keeps my fractured parts glued together when facing the stress of this world.

We all have roadblocks and stumbling blocks to becoming the person God made us to be. Those stumbling blocks might be a sin that is being committed all the time in worldly living like excess smoking, getting drunk, swearing or not being a Godly example to others. I know my major roadblock to being the person God made me to be is self worth. I struggle with myself worth all the time, because it is the things of the world, that are reflecting the negative things upon me. Pointing all my faults and cracks my personality has.

I know why God showed me that shattered piece of glass, which was still whole. God showed me that even though the glass seemed broken, it was still whole. It looked ruined yet it's fractured state, it was still beautiful. Just like me. Just like you.

In John 1:12, states I am a child of God. At times, it is hard for me to remember that, but things like that fractured piece of glass point to it.

God made sure if I didn't understand the lesson He was trying to give me with the glass, that I saw what he was trying to point out.

FORWARD

As I was walking along with the delicate piece of unbroken glass, I looked up and saw a truck with the word “Forward” on it. It was huge and unmistakable. I realized what God was trying to get me to do. Not step back. Not to stand still. But to go forward in Faith, because I was not broken. I feel cracked and broken, but to God I am a whole piece of laced glass that He holds up to the sun, to see it shine.

If you feel broken, cracked or shattered, remember you are more like a piece of broken glass shattered into separate pieces yet still whole. It is the love of God that keeps your whole, even if we feel broken. It is a type of bondage, which we are caught up into. That isn't what the Lord has for us. We must always confess or focus on the positive and not the negative or the doubt or lack of faith in one's self because the Word of God says "God has dealt to each one a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) That means God secured faith with in us. He believes in us, regardless how we see ourselves.

2 Corinthians 3:17 says Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. \o/

So remember the fractured glass. Doesn't see it as something broken and destroyed by the world. See it as beautiful lace piece of grass, which God created, formed and knew it would have flaws. But if you look closers at the those flaws, a person will fail to see it as a whole. Close your eyes, step back a bit and then open them. The full picture then comes to view as God sees it. It is no longer just fractured or broken glass, but a beautiful laced glass, whole unique and special. Much like a stained glass window, the beauty can't be seen by the naked eye, until one steps back and stands in the light.

Allow your broken glass to stand in the light, so Jesus can allow His grace to shine through. It is only if a person does that, can that person see the beauty of the broken glass. Just like God showed me with my simple little walk.

I am not the broken glass sitting in the dirt. I am a beauty fractured piece of glass that God holds together with His love and Grace. I am, as you are a unique, beautiful piece of artwork.

God bless