For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

Romans 7:15

I remember watching an older woman in Texas taking weeds out of her yard. There she was, in the heat, on hands and knees, digging out the weeds by the root. Why waste so much time? Weeds always return. I never understood the significance of it.

Weeds may return, but not the ones she had uprooted. They were gone permanently.

Our lives are very much like a weedy yard. Full of little spots that we have placed weed killer on, thinking they will die off, yet they return again. Usually, the return comes when we least expect it. Our beautiful yard is blemished by the ravaging weeds, which continue to reproduce until they overtake it completely.

I have been discussing this with some dear friends lately. It is disturbing and disappointing to me when something previously battled returns. I thought the battle was over, the victory mine. Alas, I was mistaken. The enemy has found a foothold and the roots are beginning to emerge from the soil of my life once again.

How can something you thought was uprooted return, and with such vengeance and tenacity that you are shocked?

Like any weed that returns, there was obviously a root that got missed. The plant can sit dormant under the soil until the perfect condition arises that causes it to burst forth. The same with those things we battle. If they have not truly been uprooted, wholly uprooted, they will return when the conditions are right.

We could all list some “weeds” in our life that this has happened with. Yes, it is discouraging and disappointing. Yet, there is hope! We should be encouraged.

Yes, the “weed” has returned – but we recognize it this time. We realize it is not part of who we are. We recognize it must go. We are cognizant of the fact that this “weed” has deep roots. God has not finished His work in us yet. It takes time. Be diligent to keep digging up the roots.

Romans 7:18 – 8:1 is a great passage that speaks to this very topic. The battle between our flesh and our Spirit is an enduring struggle. But Christ…

We can have victory in His name. He is fighting for us. And He has set us free from our slavery to sin. Will we have to fight the enemy? Of course! Is it worth the struggle? Absolutely!