What’s Eating You?
The Gardener daily looked over the bare earth, but there should be masses of Dahlia shoots springing forth, powering up towards the sky, thick foliage and big heavy heads of colourful blossom, but each day, there was nothing but bare earth. Watering, fertilizer, warm sunshine, nothing seemed to be working. Then the gardener noticed that some of the other plants in the vege garden were being attacked by hungry snails, so he sprinkled some bait out for them, and on his way past the Dahlia bed he sprinkled the last crumbs from the box thinly over the bare earth.
A couple of days later, and there were fresh shoots bursting forth everywhere across the Dahlia beds, the solution was evident, a quick trip to the shed for more snail bait, a liberal dose, and as the days quickly passed, the Dahlia roots pushed upwards the new life from deep down, stems and leaves were in great profusion, green growth and new life were everywhere. You see each night the hungry snails feasted on the succulent juicy stems coming through the earth, munching them right back down to just below ground level, and then to return the next night to repeat the feasting.
Like the joke from years ago, “How do you eat an Elephant?” One bite at a time. “How do you eat a mighty tree from the forest?” Done in a couple of quick nibbles, when it is just sprouting through the earth. But as a mighty towering majestic mighty forest tree, our snail attack basically could not be found as anything noticeable, but as a wee sprout, a couple of munches, and no more tree.
So, “What’s eating you?” “What’s keeping you so stunted and tiny, what is eating you off at ground level, when you should be mighty and impressive, what’s eating you up, often munching you back down to mere stubble?” Luke 21:33-36 “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
With “God’s Armour” we are more than able to withstand and to “But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.” {2 Peter 3:18} Effective growth comes from not only the Sunshine of God’s Love, but the Watering of the Holy Spirit from “The Word of God” which is Jesus Christ, as found in our Bibles, which can so quickly disappear under dust and neglect, and then we are unprotected, and the snails of the cares of this life can cruise on in at any time and eat us up. So, “What’s eating you?” “What’s keeping you so stunted and tiny?”
We are all under a constant attack from all sides, the cares of this life, alleged friends who speak with forked tongues, who want us to fail, and then they can cry out and attract attention, to you in your predicament, like snails, devour you, cut you down to the ground. Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit will always stand as guards and alerts to warn of those sneaky silent snails that will slide on up, and then quickly eat you up, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” {James 4:7} Kiwi eggs are taken from the nest and hatched in an incubator, reared in safety, and then released back into the forests as they are now too big for the attackers to succeed, let Jesus Christ grow you up so that you are too big for evil to have a go at you, for you are a mighty tree, and all the storms of this world cannot knock you down, for you are, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,” {Ephesians 3:17}
1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” So “What’s eating You?” We all can be afflicted by fears from without and fears from within, but we need to cast all of these fears at Jesus’ feet, and then to commit them to him, turn and walk away, and to leave them there, let him attend to them, please don’t make mountains out of mole hills, and let tiny things eat you up, rise above, trust Jesus Christ, commit to him, let him attend to the snails of cares, so, “What’s eating you?”
