The Garden of a True Believer: Weeds Out, Word In, Worship Up
Revelation 12: 12 Amplified
Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time [remaining]!”
As I was reading Revelation 12—specifically verse 12—something stood out to me, and I got excited to share it with you. Verse 12 begins with “Therefore,” which means for that reason… but for what reason? To understand that, we have to look back at verse 11:
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even unto death.” — Revelation 12:11
Because of that victory described in verse 11, verse 12 calls for rejoicing—and that call is directed toward those who dwell in the presence of God.
But the second half of verse 12 shifts dramatically: it reveals a reason for sorrow for those on the earth.
Why? Because the devil has been cast down with great wrath, fully aware that his time is short.
There is great distress for them because the devil has come down in wrath and he knows he only has a short amount of time; this part of the verse made me happy because this scripture shows us that the devil must operate within the time constraints that God provides. My Bible notes shared that “one of the reasons that God allow Satan to work evil and bring temptation is so that those who pretend to be Christ followers would be weeded from the true believers of the word.”
By definition a weed is - any wild plant that grows in an unwanted place, especially in a garden or field where it prevents the cultivated plants from growing freely. We never hear someone say I am going to plant some weeds, we do hear people say I am going to go pull weeds and just as a Gardner does with his garden the same thing must happens when it comes to knowing the difference between those who are weeds and those who are true worshippers of the word.
By contrast, God’s Word can be understood like a living plant: a seed that takes root in the heart, grows by drawing on divine truth, and produces fruit that transforms a person’s character. It stabilizes, nourishes, and strengthens like roots, stems, and leaves working together. Ultimately, it brings life and growth wherever it is allowed to flourish.
In worship, the more the “plant” of God’s Word grows, the more freely we can honor Him; but when “weeds” are left unchecked, they choke our focus, steal our attention, and hinder the worship God desires from us.
There must be something that separates the weeds—those who only appear to be worshippers—from those who are true worshippers of God and His Word. One of the ways God allows that separation to happen is through temptation from the enemy.
The temptation to doubt, compare, rush yet when God is calling me to take dominion over thoughts, habits and beliefs, collaborate, celebrate, and rest.
Realizing this has kept me from staying in difficult seasons longer than necessary, especially when I felt offended that God would even allow situations that were tempting, uncomfortable, or completely outside of my preference. As I began to wrestle with that, my worry time went down and my worship time increased, because I started asking myself a different question: Well what other circumstance could God use to prove that I’m serious about being a true believer, and that the Word I’m reading is actually taking root in me? I used to take every trial and temptation personally (and honestly, sometimes I still do), but I’ve had to learn that these moments carry purpose. They come to either reveal the weeds, test the roots, or produce the result God is after in my life.
Reveal — Expose the Weeds Within Me
Root — Determine if the Word is Real, Lived Out, and Applied
Result — Prove I’m Truly About This Life (Fruit as Evidence)
Our worship, our rejoicing as true believers up in the heavens and the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we don’t have to worry about the weeds of the world because there has been a separation between those who have appeared and those who are true believers. Its important for us to know that ultimately the Word roots us, the weeds reveal us, and the worship marks us.
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