Week Forty-One - Weeds and Seeds

"There is a legend of a man who found the barn where Satan kept his seed ready to be sown in the human heart and on finding the seed of discouragement more numerous than others, learned that those seeds could be made to grow almost anywhere.  When Satan was questioned, he reluctantly admitted that there was one place in which he could never get them to thrive. "And where is that?" asked the man.  Satan replied sadly, "In the heart of a grateful man." (Springs in the Valley, p 281)

Oh, dear friend, how true this is.  Seeds of discouragement appear in every area of our lives.  We get discouraged with ourselves, our jobs, our children, our marriages, our church, our pastor, our lot in life, and many, many other things.   But when we turn our discouragement into the seeds of gratitude, things grow into something much more beautiful!

It's all a matter of amending our perspective.  Instead of thinking negatively about our job, let's be thankful we have one.  Instead of despairing about our children, let's be grateful for the little lives under our care and the young people we are raising.  Instead of lamenting our marriage, let's be thankful we have opportunity to work on it.  Instead of growing discouraged with our church or pastor, let's get in and volunteer, hold them up in prayer and serve with a willing heart as unto the Lord.  Instead of complaining and growing discouraged with our lot in life, let's take it to the Lord in prayer, thank Him for where we are, and plot our course more closely to His design.  And instead of growing discouraged with ourselves, let's remember we are but flesh, and yet loved with an everlasting, and ever-patient Love.

You see, if you remain discouraged and choose to stay disgruntled, Satan's seeds take deep root.  They start to blossom into evident weeds and reseed themselves.  They poison your relationship, create havoc, and mar the beauty and spiritual health of your life.  Remember, the enemy comes only to kill and destroy.  Don't let his weeds take over!

Jesus came to give us life, and that abundant life grows from a grateful heart.  It is a choice we make - a conscious choice.  Each day we have the opportunity to sow seeds of thankfulness.

As you read Psalms, you see a man who learned this secret.  David knew gratitude played an essential part in worship, drawing strength, and living a happy life.  Even in his darkest hours, he sang the praises of God.  "When he was in despair, he called on God, and his praises soon mingled with his cries of anguish, showing the victory accomplished by his habitual thankfulness."  (Springs in the Valley)

Do you make thankfulness a habit?  Let me challenge you.  Each day, record three things for which you are thankful.  Write them down and pin them up where you can see them.  Do this every day for a month, and see if your weeds of discouragement aren't withering away!  And then, keep weeding, by sowing seeds of thankfulness. You will reap what you sow!