“An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. ”No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat (daisy) if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest… —Matthew 13:28-30

Have you ever felt like your spiritual growth was being hindered? There are so many things dragging you down that you just can’t seem to get a break? You just can’t move forward because the weeds of life are choking you out. 

WEEDS… They are just a part of life. Here are a few of mine right now: 

• financial struggle

• worry over children

• car problems

• people who require extra Grace

…and these are just a few. I’ve been in a pretty dry season lately. I think we all have them and sometimes they are caused by weeds that just pop up out of nowhere. Financial struggle, health issues, children in trouble… just to name a few. Now that’s not to say that weeds aren’t necessary.  In the parable above, Jesus said that if the weeds are uprooted then the plant would be uprooted too and therefore the weeds needed to stay. Jesus often used plant life to draw parallels to our own lives. In this case, I believe we are the plant and the weeds are the things that hinder growth or choke us out. So why then do the weeds need to stay? Why doesn’t God just remove the weeds that seem to hinder us? Why can’t life be just a little be easier?

The answer is simple…yet complicated. What do you think happens to an athlete that doesn’t work out? He doesn’t get stronger right? He needs that friction, that hard workout to get stronger. Without it, he never becomes the athlete he was meant to be.

What about the plant (I personally love daisies in case you haven’t noticed) that overcomes, even in the face of weeds? Do you think it’s root system is stronger because of it?

With that said, I believe with everything in me that weeds, whatever yours may be, are there to make us stronger. Remember, God uses everything… not causes, but uses. And when we allow those weeds to be used as a vessel to make us stronger, we become stronger; able to withstand more. You see God doesn’t always change the situation… pull the weed if you will. He leaves it there until it is time for you to bloom into the daisy (or your favorite flower), standing tall above all the rest, able to shine and overcome as you represent him to the world.

So when we are going through tough times and we just can’t seem to get a break, remember, God is growing you into a beautiful flower as you bloom right where He has planted you. He is growing you into a person that overcomes because she has been through the weeds and has learned to trust God in spite of them. Has learned to grow right through them.