My one defense

I have heard this song so many times but for some reason yesterday in worship it hit a twang inside. We are planting corn, flowers and gardens. I am well aware of weeds. When I was a kid we had to walk the bean rows and pull weeds. My dad would pay me one penny for every goldenrod I pulled out of the field. Believe me when I say I earned those pennies. It was one of our defenses against weeds: remove them.

Nowadays we till, spray, Cultivate, respray, listen to the agronomist and add something else to the combination. We are using everything we can, many defenses against the weeds. We would like a great abundant crop. Therefore we attack anything that wants to grow that may take away from our crop growth and yield.

As we sang that song yesterday it dawned on me. Jesus gives us one option. We don’t have spiritual roundup, or heavenly hoes, or Emmanuel’s eliminator when it comes to getting rid of anything in our lives that keep us from growing, we have only one line of defense. The line in the song, my one defense, my righteousness smacked me right between the eyes. I have tried other ways to keep sin out of my heart. I don’t think I am the only one. I make sure I don’t watch things that divert my attention, I don’t listen to what I shouldn’t and I put blinders on. Although that’s a good thing, if Jesus isn’t turning the wheel, I am going to continue to drive erratically. I don’t need the formulas as much as I desperately need the one who created the formulas. “ I need you Lord I need you, every hour I need you, my one defense, my righteousness, O God how I need you.” Remind me to walk letting Jesus be what I need not settle for other things that may divert my attention but don’t change my heart. Let me focus on his righteousness and not my feeble attempts. Let me confess, find rest, reach for His grace and let that be enough. Then, I will find His defense is a much better spiritual weed puller and heart ground tiller than on my own I could ever.