For years, my backyard had some very entitled visitors… iguanas.

Not invited. Not paying rent. Not even saying grace.

Just plain vandalism.

I would plant with excitement, water with care, and the moment I turned my back, a buffet was opened. These iguanas weren’t grazing… they were hosting full-course meals on my faith.

I got so tired of them that I had to start caging my plants like they were in witness protection. I switched to bromeliads because apparently iguanas have standards and don’t like those. (Who knew? 😄)

But recently, something shifted.

My orchids, planted on the trunk of a tree in my backyard, started thriving. Quietly. Consistently. No interference. And then one day I noticed… wait… where are the iguanas?

Gone. M.I.A

No warning. No farewell tour. Just… disappeared.

Then yesterday, I drove into my community and saw a man holding several iguanas like a proud fisherman coming back from a successful ‘fishing’ trip. He was just swinging several large iguanas casually like he got a ‘large catch’.

I said, “Well… praise God for destiny helpers I didn’t even pray for!”

But later that day, the Holy Spirit whispered something deeper:

“Shyann, just like I handled those iguanas, I will deal with every ‘Egyptian’ in your life.”

The Scripture Exodus 14:13 (KJV) came alive, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord… for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.”

Some of us have been frustrated, not because we’re not planting, but because something keeps eating our harvest.

You’ve been faithful. You’ve been consistent. You’ve been obedient.

But every time fruit starts to show, something, or someone, shows up to consume what belongs to you.

Here’s the good news:

God doesn’t always remove things loudly… sometimes He removes them quietly.

No announcement. No warning. Just one day you look up and realize:

• The stress isn’t there anymore
• The opposition has lifted
• The thing that used to bother you… is gone.

And you didn’t even fight it.

God sent a “destiny helper” you didn’t schedule, didn’t fast for, didn’t even know you needed.

Just like my garden, what once felt like a constant battle became a place of beauty again.

And here’s the revelation that blessed me:

While I was adjusting, God was already eliminating.

Now I can plant and eat.

Grow and enjoy.

Sow and see fruit remain.

Prayer

Father,

Thank You for being the God who fights battles I don’t even see.

Thank You for removing what has been consuming my harvest, seen and unseen.

Lord, every “iguana” in my life, every distraction, every opposition, every hidden devourer, I trust You to handle it completely.

Help me to remain faithful in planting, even when I don’t see immediate results.

Give me the confidence to know that what You’ve promised me, I will enjoy.

Just as You declared, the enemies I see today, I will see no more.

Let my life be a testimony of quiet victories and undeniable favor.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Reflection 

What “iguanas” in my life have been quietly consuming my time, peace, or harvest, and have I trusted God to remove them, or have I just been managing them?

Where have I seen subtle evidence that God is already working behind the scenes to restore what I’ve planted, even before I see the full harvest?