by Darcia Kunkel

God’s Mitigation for Fruitfulness.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,
but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires
for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
Mark 4:18-19, English Standard Version

I have several annoying weeds that perpetually grow in my xeriscape front yard. They are hard to pull, and almost impossible to eradicate. No matter how hard I try, these unwanted crazy plants continue to make their presence known.

Isn’t that what can happen in our daily lives? Conflict, and sin, keep popping up at the most inopportune times. Are you getting stuck in the weeds? I often find myself choked in the thicket on a daily basis. When I get rid of one issue another pops up. The world and the sinfulness within it just won’t leave me alone!

Jesus speaks about the threat to our core faith, and beliefs, when we are surrounded by a daily barrage of lies and anxieties. It is easy to become so bogged down with the stresses, materialism, and evils of this world, that we lose hope and faith. Despondence, and indifference, can take hold and start to slowly snuff out our trust in, and dependence upon, God.

How do we make it through the weed maze in order to do God’s will? By keeping our eyes fixed upon the cross, and enduring the race set before us here on this earth. Only by fixating upon Christ, and what he has done for us, can we mitigate the damage done by the weeds in our lives, and become a useful vessel for God’s work.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus,
the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2, English Standard Version

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado