PRAYER PROMPT ••• When I was a little girl, there was a family in our church who had a gorgeous weeping willow tree in their front yard.
I loved that tree.
We passed their house every week on the way to church and every week, I pressed my nose against the window to admire it.
I finally asked my mom if we could plant a tree like that in our yard.
My little-girl-imagination had “The Secret Garden” reading nook running amok in my head (the confession of every lifelong bookworm!)
But my mom said no.
She went on to explain that weeping willow roots shouldn’t be planted too close to houses because their root systems could damage plumbing.
What I heard: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Who cares about plumbing?
Even at 42, I glaze over a bit, though I understand it more than the 8-year-old version of me from way back when.
The tree reminds me of the passage from 1 Corinthians 10:23, “’All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.”
There was nothing wrong with the tree.
It was just a matter of where it was placed.
The same could be said for bread…
There’s nothing wrong with bread, but it’s not doing my hips any favors.
There are some things that aren’t necessarily bad for us, but we have to ask ourselves – are they beneficial to us?
We need to actively and diligently seek things out that uplift and encourage us; most of all, things that draw us closer to God.
Today, as you pray, if you have something in your life that isn’t beneficial to your growth in Christ, ask the Holy Spirit to help you remove it.
Ask Him to bring things into your life that will enable you to draw closer to Jesus.
