Spring has sprung. The pollen is here. Grass is growing. 

I’ve already had my first two grass cutting days of 2024, and as I was mowing this weekend, I thought about the parallels between gardening and our spiritual lives.

If yards and gardens are left unattended, the grass will grow taller and thicker. Weeds will overrun. Flowers will die. Ants will build their hills and stinging, flying bugs will move in. Intentional care is needed to keep a yard healthy and strong.

The same is true for us spiritually. When we neglect our time in prayer, our time in the Word or our time worshiping and fellowshipping with believers, the weeds can begin to move in. 

The Christian life was never intended to be one and done. Yes, our salvation is secure in Christ, but without regular time devoted to God and His word, it’s so easy to find ourselves drifting from the life of obedience God calls us to.

Maybe you think everything is going fine until one day you realize your heart has been hardening, you lack compassion and your desire to seek after God is shriveling. 

I can’t tell you why it happens. It could be from a sin in your life that has been too long ignored. Or maybe you’re in a busy or hard season of life and you’ve stopped prioritizing your time with God. 

Unfortunately, even when things are busy or hard, the grass still grows and neglected flowers still die. Nature doesn’t wait on you. 

In the same way, sin, discouragement and lethargy threatens us spiritually. Unlike nature, which doesn’t have an agenda to “steal, kill and destroy,” Satan does (John 10:10). And he’s waiting for those moments of neglect to attack.

Seasons change and the rhythms of life ebb and flow, but we must remain committed to prioritizing our time with God in every season. It won’t always look the same, but it should look like something.

If you feel like you are in a place where the weeds are threatening your heart, my encouragement to you today is to stop and pray. Pray that God will reignite a desire to seek after Him and love others well. 

Devote time each day to prayer or reading the Bible. Decide on it and stick to it. Don’t think you have time? Your commute is an easy time to commit to prayer or listening to the Bible being read. Maybe that’s where you need to start. Just start somewhere. 

Need accountability? Confide in a trusted friend and ask them to check in on you daily or weekly to see how you are doing with your goal. And be honest with them. If you are struggling, tell them. Ask them to pray for you.

Stay vigilant of Satan’s attacks. Don’t let the weeds of disinterest and hard heartedness start to grow. They can’t be stopped or slowed with inactivity. So get to work. Run to the ultimate gardener, our Creator, Sustainer and Savor.