Tuesday 1 March 2022

My dad grew up in a poor farming family during the Depression era and couldn’t wait to get off the farm when he was old enough. Therefore, I am a city girl, born and raised!

Jesus often used agricultural metaphors to speak in a way that the listeners of the day could understand. Although most of us have probably never been farmers, we too, can understand something of God’s ways through this parable.

Here we read of a scenario that would frustrate any farmer. His precious crops are full of weeds!

Firstly, look how the Farmer’s workers respond to this situation.  They are confused by what is going on – “Where did they (the weeds) come from?”, they ask.

The workers lack understanding, but the Farmer knows straightaway that an enemy has deliberately sowed weeds in the fields to try and destroy the harvest.

Secondly, the workers offer a solution to fix the problem – “Shall we pull all the weeds out?!” Again, the Farmer knows better. He instructs them to not act rashly or they’ll just make things worse. Wait patiently and it will all get sorted in the end.

We are often like the workers and God is like the Farmer. When the enemy comes against us, we often are confused and taken by surprise – “What is going on here??”. Of course, God is not surprised – He always knows what’s really going on.

Then my next response is often just like the workers – how can I immediately fix this problem?! Isn’t it good that God, the wise Farmer, always has a solution? Isn’t it challenging that the solution often involves waiting patiently for His wisdom and His timing!

Father God, as we face challenges in our lives, help us to look to You to see what is really going on beneath the surface, and help us to wait patiently for Your wisdom on how to move forward.

Written by Shelley Witt