Some Root Work
My husband, Ken, and I were sitting out on our back deck one afternoon enjoying a beautiful day when I pointed out how strange it was to see a variety of leaves on the giant pine trees that run along the back of our yard's property line. There were plenty of pine tree limbs with pine cones on them. But there were also leafy vines that stuck out in various places all the way up the trees. They were green and blended in but just looked different from what pine trees are supposed to look like. Ken said, 'those aren't supposed to be there'. He went to get the large gardening shears and disappeared inside the tree line.
I had no idea what Ken was doing once he literally stepped inside the tree branches to get to the trunk of the tree. I couldn't see him but I could hear him clipping away. When I hollered out, 'what in the world are you doing in there?' he answered, 'I am cutting those vines off at the root. I can't pull them off the tree but I can cause them to die so they don't invade these trees anymore.' Do you know that within a week, those weeds that had grown all the way up inside those trees, that were green and almost blended in, had turned brown...lifeless. They'd been cut off at the root.
Oh my goodness. What a spiritual lesson that spoke to me. We can work so hard to extract ourself from things that don't belong in our lives. They may even blend in but in the end they can bring us harm. The answer often is finding the root of it...and cutting it off. We may need to find the courage to do it ourselves. Sometimes we need the Holy Spirit to do the cutting. The Bible is very clear that God will show us when we ask. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." James 1:5 (ESV)
Be aware that when we ask God to help us cut away anything in our lives that keeps us from growing fully in His plan for us, things could get complicated. It might be messy. It could even hurt. But the end result will be a lush life that thrives in the presence of our Savior. And that is the goal!
Read more devotions written by Denise Harper at Treasured Inside
https://deniseharper.blog
