I hate weeds. Don’t you?

Oh yeah, I know, the yellow dandelion flower is pretty and all. But they’re actually insidious creatures and every spring my #1 nemesis.

When I left Boone for a week out in Denver, my grass was green and looked nice. I had spread weed killer and fertilizer and things were perking along nicely.

When we arrived back in the mountains of western North Carolina, it was nighttime. The next morning, I was astonished. Weeds were everywhere, especially coming up through the little rock bed underneath the stairs up to our deck. And the dandelions were feasting throughout our front and side yards.

Fortunately, the rock-bed variety, though prolific, were the easiest to weed because the root system was shallow and the ground was still wet from recent rains. I tackled them first. But there were so many. Two hours later, I think I had them all. But my back was definitely strained and tight.

As I was pulling them up, I thought about how sin can be a lot like weeds.

When we sin, say getting mad at someone and maybe even yelling at them, if we confess it immediately and ask for forgiveness, there’s no time for anger to take root or spread. It’s so much easier to deal with. I think that’s why the Apostle Paul cautioned in Ephesians 4:26-27 not to “let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”

Dandelions, however, are thick and grow deep and out. You can’t just pull them up by hand. I dropped to my hands and knees and dug them out with my trusty steel knife tool. I had to make sure I got all of the roots, otherwise, they’d return.

That’s the way with deep-seated sin. If we don’t deal with it immediately, sin will embed itself and fester and grow. Anger, if left unchecked, can only spread and grow worse—even to the point of hatred and lead, I think in some cases, to unfettered racism. We have to attack it and get it all. Government programs to fight it, though needed and helpful and I applaud leaders who boldly address it, ultimately don’t get at the root of the problem. Praise God, though, He gives us the strength to tackle sin in our lives and gain victory and forgiveness through Jesus Christ His Son!

I remember as a kid in Wilmington, Delaware, I was tasked to weed dandelions in our spacious yard. When my parents weren’t looking, I pulled off the flowers, so to appear I had gotten them. I faked it. Yeah, I can do the same with a lawn mower. Mow the pesky things off. Voila, they’re gone. Really?

We can be sly with sin, too. We can become good at faking out people, covering up our sin, making them think we’re better than we really are, but sooner or later, sin will show its ugly head sometime and somewhere down the road.

Weeds can be overpowering. When there are so many, we can feel overwhelmed and get discouraged. My oldest daughter threw back at me my own advice I had given to her about weeding in her own yard. “Tackle them 15 minutes a day instead of all at once.” So that’s what I’m now doing. A little bit at a time, faithfully keeping at it.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, He forgives all of our sin for all of time! The penalty of sin was nailed to the cross where Jesus died. But while alive on earth, we’re dealing with the power of sin. Sometimes we can be overwhelmed if we try to tackle it on multiple fronts. So, we need to be faithful to ask God for victory one day at a time, sometimes even one sin at a time, until they’re all rooted out.

In addition, the same daughter said, “Hey, I love weeding. Why don’t you wait until I come in June and I’ll weed them for you.” I thanked her but said, “No, this is my fight. I need to deal with them now, otherwise they’ll be six feet tall by the time you come.” A little exaggeration, yes, but the point being that I have to fight sin in my life. I can’t relegate that to someone else. Now, I can sure ask for help as I battle it, but I can’t slough it off onto another person.

Why don’t you just spray them, someone asked? Well, I did use my spreader to put weed killer down, but alas, to not much avail. And I don’t like the idea of messing up the environment with sprays, so I will tackle them one at a time the old-fashioned way.

Finally, I could spend every waking hour outside in the fight, but I’ll wear myself—and my body—out. I realize that I can invest all of my time in the battle but to the neglect of cultivating a deeper personal relationship with the God of the universe, who can actually enable me to win the battle through the Spirit. My time with my Heavenly Father must remain top priority and then go deal with the weeds of my life.

ACTION STEP: How about you, my friend? In this season of weeds, how are you doing? Trust the Lord for His wisdom and strength to tackle those sins in your life. He wants to give you victory over each and every one. He promises it! “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your Word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. I have treasured Your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You” (Psalm 119:9-11).