The girls came over the other day and they helped me weed the garden.  It was a good time to do it; the sun was going down soon and the garden was in the shade.  They pulled out several little sprigs of clover and runners of Bermuda grass that were in a place they shouldn’t be.  They even helped me pull one really big weed that had grown in the corner of the garden hidden from sight by some hedges.  Hidden that is, until it grew even taller than the hedges in front of it.  We had to go get some gloves so they could pull it without getting stickers in their hand.  Once its roots finally turned loose, the girls held it up and that weed was taller than me.  We talked about how weeds are like problems.  It’s a lot better to take care of them and get rid of them while they are still small.  Left unchecked, they can soon get out of control.

It is that same way with our physical health, our financial health and is especially so in regard to our spiritual health.  In 2 Corinthians 13:5 Paul reminds the church to “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!”  Paul wants believers to remember that on their own, untended and left to their own devices that weeds will spring up.  We need to examine ourselves, our lives, our attitudes and our behaviors to see if we are walking according to the way and the will of the Lord.  We are to prayerfully check in the corners and look in the hidden places of our hearts and uproot those things that should not be there.  I like how David asked for God’s help with this task in Psalm 139:23 – 24

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

We should be so grateful that we receive God’s help in regard to this task.  We should be grateful for family and friends who encourage us and edify us in regard to our faith.  We should be grateful for those who help us pull weeds.