Pulling Weeds

Yesterday afternoon I headed outdoors since the weather was so nice and warm. I thought it was a great time to pull weeds and plant flowers in the front yard. I bought a bunch of yellow and orange marigolds…I love planting flowers it makes everything look so pretty and cheerful.

I began pulling weeds and found there were alot more than I thought there would be. Some weeds were short and low to the ground, and then there were some that were like long vines…it took forever to find their root because they had spread so far.

Today, in my devotions I read a verse that made me think how our thought life is like a garden…we can allow good things and bad things to grow there. The verse is 2 Corinthians 10:5–”We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” We allow the good to take root, and we remove the bad before it causes damage to our spiritual lives.

Have your thoughts ever been invaded by negativity, hopelessness, or just plain wickedness? I’ll admit, mine have. I remember one time I was plagued with horrible nightmares. They were evil, gruesome, and full of sin. I would awaken upset and shocked that I was the main character in these nightmares. I would spend days in a fog of oppression with a demonic thought planted in my mind that I might actually act out these nightmares. My spiritual strength was being sapped by this attack on my thoughts.

I knew I had to do something. So I began praying for God to show me how to overcome these nightmares. I read in Ephesians 5:26 how Christ cleanses us through the washing of the Word of God so I faithfully read my Bible, especially before bed. I bought the Bible on cassette tapes (before cds) and played them as I slept. I also prayed diligently before going to bed. I even yelled at the devil and told him to stay out of my dreams. I became careful of what I was watching on tv and which movies I went to. I even prayed for a change in my job situation. I was working for the State Attorneys office in the Victim’s Advocates department where victims of rape were given special care and representation. It was a great job with great people, but I just couldn’t take the main part of the job which was transcribing the interviews of the victims describing what happened. After prayer, I was quickly moved to work for an attorney in the misdemeanors department working mostly with DUIs.

Through this, I learned to take captive the bad thoughts in my life. I learned it was possible to control your thought life. With God nothing is impossible. If I’m willing to stand and fight in His strength, He will deliver me.

In the garden of my thought life, I don’t want weeds! I will do all I can to pull the weeds of bad thoughts. I only want beautiful flowers. I want for my thoughts to be pleasing to God!