Grow the Grass

hey guys! hope everything's going great!

have you ever laid down centipede grass? if you have, you'll know that, when you first make the lawn, it looks horrible. the grass will be littered with weeds, all over, filling every inch of soil the grass doesn't. the grass looks small and half-dead. it's a mess.

you can try to pull the weeds out, but all you'll do is put a lot of energy into ripping up the soil, and making the grass look even worse. the work will be endless; you'll just get worn out.

instead, grow the grass. give it weed-and-feed, make sure it's watered, and let it soak in the sun. within a few weeks, you'll start to see something incredible. the grass grows quickly, but the weeds will begin to look more and more dead. as the grass spreads across your yard, the weeds begin to get fewer and fewer, faster and faster. you suddenly begin to realize: the grass is choking the weeds. soon, you have a lush lawn, and every weed in it dies prematurely.

our souls are the same way. often, when people want to live better lives, feel better about themselves, be "better christians", or experience God more, they try to do more good works, and attempt to stop doing whatever sin they see in their lives. they try to rip out every heartache, scar, weakness, or temptation from their lives. they make themselves busy with nice church activities or go to cool church events. and they end up wearing themselves to the core.

the Israelites attempted the same thing, and listen to what their God had to say to them:

"this is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it." -isaiah 30:15

Instead of focusing on our fears or our faults and attempting to fix every aspect of our lives, we must simply rest in Him. we need only spend time with Him in prayer, fill our minds and hearts with His Word, and cling to His old rugged cross. as He fills us with faith, hope, and love, all lesser things are eclipsed in the glory of His Holy Spirit.

we cannot afford to be a generation simply of doers. doing things is wonderful, but doing accomplishes nothing without being. we must first be in Him before we can do anything through Him. we must let His light consume the empty void of our inner darkness. this is the meaning of the Christian life.

"my soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him." -psalm 62:1

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery [...] but by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." -galations 5:1-5

praying that He fills you up through your inmost being and gives you the ultimate rest! God bless!