Through The Bible in a Year - June 12, 2026

"The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" - Matthew 13:28-30

The servants had a completely reasonable idea: pull up the weeds. Get rid of what's causing the problem. Fix it now.

But the Master said no. Not yet.

Why? Because in a broken, fallen world, the roots of the wheat and the roots of the weeds are intertwined. To pull up the weeds too soon is to destroy the very harvest God intends to grow.

This is the part of the parable that requires faith—real faith, hard faith. The parable teaches that God is intentionally leaving the weeds in place, at least for now, until He is ready to collect those who have put their faith in Him because the weeds have made them desperate for God’s care and certain that they need his grace more than their own solutions. And He's asking us to trust Him with that truth.

Do we have any proof that God’s weeding schedule is wiser than ours? Consider how our nation has struggled with Iran with its constant threats to Israel. Why doesn’t God just wipe out the Arab nation now? The answer for those with ears to hear is that Iran has one of the most rapidly growing underground churches in the world. If God had acted on our schedule, He would have "fixed" Iran—and destroyed the harvest of believers he is growing.

China is America's greatest geopolitical threat. China also has more Christian believers than any other nation on earth. If God had decimated China when it drove out Western missionaries decades ago, He would have "solved" the China problem according to our wisdom—but would also have uprooted the growth of millions of believers who now worship Jesus in China, and will be our brothers and sisters in Christ for eternity.

And closer to home: that grandmother suffering in hospice care, whose roots are intertwined with a grandchild who needs to watch a saint die well. The young person bullied at school, whose roots are entangled with persecutors who will later come to faith as a consequence of that young person’s witness. The patient in the hospital, whose faithful endurance of suffering is witnessed by medical staff whose own roots are slowly becoming intertwined with the roots of the gospel.

Kenneth Bae, the longest-held American prisoner in North Korea, had a guard who taunted him: "If your God loves you so much, why are you in this prison camp?"

Kenneth Bae answered: "What if my God put me here so that you would know my God—and He loves you that much?"

Respond: What situation in your life makes you want to pray, "God, just fix this now"? Where are you struggling to wait on His timing?

Consider: whose roots might be intertwined with yours in that situation? Who might be watching how you endure? Who might be drawn toward God by witnessing your faith in the middle of your suffering?

God is not absent from your weeds. He is present and working through them. He is letting both wheat and weeds grow together because He sees something you can't yet see—a harvest being prepared through the very thing you want removed.

This week, ask God to show you who might be watching your faith. Who needs to see you trust Him as you walk through your weeds?

Prayer: Lord, I want You to fix this now. I want the weeds gone. I want the pain to stop. I want the situation resolved. But You are saying, "Not yet. Let the weeds and wheat both grow together." Give me faith to trust Your timing. Help me see that my roots may be intertwined with someone who needs to witness my faith. Use my suffering, my waiting, my patience to grow someone else toward You. Your timing is right, even when I don't understand it. Help me to believe that. In Jesus' name, Amen.