On my knees—and not in prayer—the Holy Spirit set up an appointment with my heart.
The enchantment of the late afternoon beckoned me to stay outdoors. Summer’s twilight created the perfect ambiance for lingering. Within minutes, a nearby flower bed called out, and soon I found myself on my knees pulling weeds. But not just any kind of weed. My target was an invader, the dreaded thistle.
This ruthless nuisance shows no mercy and sets out to conquer any place it decides to homestead. Additionally, the plant possesses mean, prickly stickers designed to punish the gardener with each attempt to pull it up by the roots.
With my impetuous self, I didn’t bother to don my gardening gloves, a decision I would soon regret. Consequently, my hands suffered from the painful pricks, but my obsession with the battle kept me at it.
“Then somewhere between bushes, right there on my knees this lovely summer evening, God the Holy Spirit invited me into the classroom of my heart. ”
Like the harsh prick on my hands, my soul felt the painful sticker of an incident where I felt abandoned and hung out to dry. Thankfully, at the time of the occurrence, the Holy Spirit miraculously moved within me to extend forgiveness. But now in the solitude of my late afternoon gardening—out of nowhere—a prompt in my spirit alerted me to see yet another nasty thistle weed trying to spring up within me.
To ignore such prompting would be dangerous, as the Scriptural warning in Hebrews 12:15 (HCSB) urges, “Make sure … that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many.” What would be my response?
Bitterness is bad business, never stays contained, and starts as a tiny weed, just like the ones I was clearing out of the dirt. It would be so easy—and certainly human—to leave it alone. But God calls us to more. And His more is worth the commitment needed to keep any root of bitterness obliterated from our hearts.
So, there on my knees, surrounded by mocking thistles in my flowerbed, I submitted the soil of my heart to the Holy Spirit and allowed Him to pull out the seedling by its root and force it to die. Then, prayerfully releasing a fresh waterfall of grace over the entirety of the matter, I got up from my knees, looked around, smiled a quiet smile, and breathed in the wonder of it all.
Then sings my soul …
Living With Eternal Intentionality®
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When recently did God nudge you to deal with the soil of your heart?
How did you respond?
What counsel would you offer someone who wants to nurse, rather than release, such a matter?
