I have always believed in effort and personal responsibility. Growing up, I was taught that we have a role to play in this universe. We should not just sit around and wait for God to do everything for us. So, I worked hard at everything I was given; convinced I was the master of my destiny. As the saying goes, “you reap what you sow”. Yet, as I journey through life, I have realized that effort does not always guarantee the desired results. Sometimes the harvest looks nothing like what you sowed.

Jesus taught his disciples a parable about a farmer in Mathew 13:24-29. In the parable he explained that a farmer sowed seeds on his farm but, in the night while men slept, an enemy came and sowed tares (weeds). When the crops began to grow the workers noticed that there were weeds among them and they asked, “Did we not sow good seeds? Where then are the tares from?” The farmer replied “this was the work of the enemy.”

This parable teaches us that we are not the only ones sowing seeds. There is an enemy waiting for the night to fall and then he sows his bad seed. We can not blame the workers for sleeping because it is natural for men to rest after a long day at work. Yet the enemy takes advantage of this moment. And it was only after the crops had grown that the famer realized there was a product he never sowed!

This lesson resonates deeply with life and with Christian living. We usually blame ourselves when things go wrong, asking, “What did I do wrong?” or “What did I miss?” But not every failure or setback is our fault. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, an unseen adversary works against us.

We always talk about how Judas betrayed Jesus and how he was such a bad person. However, Judas spent three years helping Jesus in His ministry. His love for money was a flaw, but he might have continued as a disciple. The trouble came one night, as Luke tells us “Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve (Luke 22:3)“. It was only after the devil came that Judas mastered the courage to go to the Pharisees and betray Jesus. The enemy had sowed a bad seed.

I am learning that not everything is my fault. I understand that there are battles beyond my control—forces at work that are not flesh and blood but spiritual in nature. Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

In the past each time things did not work out as I hoped and planned, I blamed myself. “There is something I did not do, something I missed, something I did wrong” – often carrying the guilt of not being good enough or not doing enough. But now I know there are many things that had nothing to do with my efforts, but everything to do with the enemy’s schemes.

Certain theology had taught me not to give the devil any attention. That “All that matters is what I do!” However, I’ve learnt that a strong will and determination alone are not enough because the enemy, a master of the unseen world, stops somewhere and resists. It is not about whether I give him attention or not, because on his part he is – working in the shadows – sowing bad seed to frustrate and make it look like I never sowed anything good to begin with.

Therefore, rather than be hard on myself all the time, I have learnt to be gracious with myself and to forgive myself. I think this is why there are many things God – in his mercy and wisdom – does not even condemn us for; because he knows an enemy came in.

So, I have learnt to pick myself up from the frustration and place I was at – where I was blaming myself for everything wrong – and realize that I have an adversary. The answer is not in self guilt but in resisting the devil. James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Even Jesus taught his disciples in the lord’s prayer “deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:9-13).

The answer is in prayer: that even though we cannot stop the enemy from sowing seeds, we can pray that our seed survives – and bears good fruit (Matthew 13:8), that endures (John 15:16). And no matter how much he tries, in the end we stand victorious, because we have God on our side (1 John 4:4).