"The LORD's light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive."
Proverbs 20:27
When my son was younger, he was a Boy Scout and I was one of the leaders. We would get the opportunity to participate in weekend outings at least once a month. In order for the boys to have enough time to really enjoy the weekend, we would need to be packed up and ready to go right after work on Friday evening. We would drive to the location, sometimes a few hours away, and then hike back to a remote cabin. Sometimes the cabin would be big, sometimes it would be small, but by the time we would get there, it would always be DARK! Of course, the boys would never admit this, but I noticed how they would seem to preoccupy themselves with the gear and linger far away from the door as the adults made their way into the dark, cold and hopefully empty cabin. The cabins never had electricity so there wasn't a light switch to flick on to illuminate the room and sometimes our flashlights can cast the most bizarre shadows. By the time everyone came inside, though, there were enough flashlights and lanterns that you could make out the details of the cabin fairly easily, but still there were areas of darkness. The first night was always the "scariest" because you just didn't KNOW all the details of the cabin. By morning, the sun would illuminate every detail. The cabin would seem so much smaller in the morning but it also felt safer because we could see everything. There were no longer any dark crevasses where evil could linger...
That's how it is with us. We are the cabins. Sometimes we have many rooms of many sizes and sometimes it just one little room. Sin is the darkness and God is the most powerful source of light you can ever imagine. Our willingness to let God into our life can be represented by either a tiny little candle or wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows. Asking Jesus to come into our life and be our savior and our guide is the first step. Then we begin to ask Jesus to point out the areas in our lives that need attention. He will place on your heart the biggest item that needs to be fixed first. He will only give you one. You will not get a list. Just one. Take that one item and ask Him how it should be fixed. He will layout for you in your mind the steps you should take to correct the problem. It might take a while for you to receive direction. Continue to pray on this one item and eventually the resolution will arrive. I don't know how it works - I can't explain it. I just know it works. Through this process you are asking God to illuminate the areas of our lives that need to be cleansed. You are removing this sin from your life through this cleansing process. During the cleansing process you will begin to see this sin as God views it, which helps us as we try not to repeat the sin again.
There is another side of this that you need to be aware of and that is Satan does not want you to do this. Satan lives in these dark recesses of our lives. These are his footholds. He digs up these sins and throws them at you when ever you're trying to do the right thing. For example, that thought you had as you were reading the previous paragraph - the one that went like this - "God will never forgive my sin because...." That negativity comes from Satan. He tells you that you are not worthy. He tells you that you'll never amount to anything. He laughs at you as you attempt to do anything positive. He also introduces adversity into our lives as we try to follow God's plan for us. Isn't it time we kick him out? Isn't it time for Satan to get his eviction notice?
Now, I know some of you are reading this and thinking Satan isn't real it's just a mythical image created to strike fear in our lives so we try to be better people. If you're thinking this way, I have a challenge for you that will show you how real he is. Take on a task or a role at your church. Step out of your "comfort zone." Every one of those reasons why you can't do that - is Satan. You see, your "comfort zone" is a spiritual coma. Your body is alive but you're spirit is being snuffed out by not spending time doing God's work. The less you physically do, the less likely you are going to do anything for God. Anything that makes you idle, is from Satan, hence the saying "Idle hands are the devils workshop." When you try to break away from these tools that make you idle, Satan steps in and convinces you that what ever you were going to do is not as important as what you were doing before. Just keep sitting there... doing nothing... letting time slip away... until you die... and become his.
Let me give you a real life situation. When I signed up for my first mission trip, Satan stirred up all kinds of problems in my life. My work suddenly "required" me to be available the week I was going to be gone. Everything seemed to "need" my attention. There was no way I was going to be able to go because of "fill in the blank!" I went anyway!! And when I got back, my job was still there. Everything was just fine. In fact it was better because I could now see Satan for what he is. The great deceiver. The great liar!! For so many years, the voice I was listening to was not God's but Satan's voice which was keeping me from experiencing the greatest gift ever. I was now on fire for Christ! My faith had been ignited and I want you to experience this gift as well!!
God has a better plan but He's not going to force it on you. You have to want to improve your situation. You have to overcome the negativity that Satan is throwing at you and take the step anyway. You have to move out of your comfort zone before it's too late. Break those chains of sin that bind you and keep you from doing God's work. Get up and do God's work - however small the tasks is - just do it. God is there to guide you and show you the way! His way! He will illuminate the path!!
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
Proverbs 20:27
When my son was younger, he was a Boy Scout and I was one of the leaders. We would get the opportunity to participate in weekend outings at least once a month. In order for the boys to have enough time to really enjoy the weekend, we would need to be packed up and ready to go right after work on Friday evening. We would drive to the location, sometimes a few hours away, and then hike back to a remote cabin. Sometimes the cabin would be big, sometimes it would be small, but by the time we would get there, it would always be DARK! Of course, the boys would never admit this, but I noticed how they would seem to preoccupy themselves with the gear and linger far away from the door as the adults made their way into the dark, cold and hopefully empty cabin. The cabins never had electricity so there wasn't a light switch to flick on to illuminate the room and sometimes our flashlights can cast the most bizarre shadows. By the time everyone came inside, though, there were enough flashlights and lanterns that you could make out the details of the cabin fairly easily, but still there were areas of darkness. The first night was always the "scariest" because you just didn't KNOW all the details of the cabin. By morning, the sun would illuminate every detail. The cabin would seem so much smaller in the morning but it also felt safer because we could see everything. There were no longer any dark crevasses where evil could linger...
That's how it is with us. We are the cabins. Sometimes we have many rooms of many sizes and sometimes it just one little room. Sin is the darkness and God is the most powerful source of light you can ever imagine. Our willingness to let God into our life can be represented by either a tiny little candle or wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows. Asking Jesus to come into our life and be our savior and our guide is the first step. Then we begin to ask Jesus to point out the areas in our lives that need attention. He will place on your heart the biggest item that needs to be fixed first. He will only give you one. You will not get a list. Just one. Take that one item and ask Him how it should be fixed. He will layout for you in your mind the steps you should take to correct the problem. It might take a while for you to receive direction. Continue to pray on this one item and eventually the resolution will arrive. I don't know how it works - I can't explain it. I just know it works. Through this process you are asking God to illuminate the areas of our lives that need to be cleansed. You are removing this sin from your life through this cleansing process. During the cleansing process you will begin to see this sin as God views it, which helps us as we try not to repeat the sin again.
There is another side of this that you need to be aware of and that is Satan does not want you to do this. Satan lives in these dark recesses of our lives. These are his footholds. He digs up these sins and throws them at you when ever you're trying to do the right thing. For example, that thought you had as you were reading the previous paragraph - the one that went like this - "God will never forgive my sin because...." That negativity comes from Satan. He tells you that you are not worthy. He tells you that you'll never amount to anything. He laughs at you as you attempt to do anything positive. He also introduces adversity into our lives as we try to follow God's plan for us. Isn't it time we kick him out? Isn't it time for Satan to get his eviction notice?
Now, I know some of you are reading this and thinking Satan isn't real it's just a mythical image created to strike fear in our lives so we try to be better people. If you're thinking this way, I have a challenge for you that will show you how real he is. Take on a task or a role at your church. Step out of your "comfort zone." Every one of those reasons why you can't do that - is Satan. You see, your "comfort zone" is a spiritual coma. Your body is alive but you're spirit is being snuffed out by not spending time doing God's work. The less you physically do, the less likely you are going to do anything for God. Anything that makes you idle, is from Satan, hence the saying "Idle hands are the devils workshop." When you try to break away from these tools that make you idle, Satan steps in and convinces you that what ever you were going to do is not as important as what you were doing before. Just keep sitting there... doing nothing... letting time slip away... until you die... and become his.
Let me give you a real life situation. When I signed up for my first mission trip, Satan stirred up all kinds of problems in my life. My work suddenly "required" me to be available the week I was going to be gone. Everything seemed to "need" my attention. There was no way I was going to be able to go because of "fill in the blank!" I went anyway!! And when I got back, my job was still there. Everything was just fine. In fact it was better because I could now see Satan for what he is. The great deceiver. The great liar!! For so many years, the voice I was listening to was not God's but Satan's voice which was keeping me from experiencing the greatest gift ever. I was now on fire for Christ! My faith had been ignited and I want you to experience this gift as well!!
God has a better plan but He's not going to force it on you. You have to want to improve your situation. You have to overcome the negativity that Satan is throwing at you and take the step anyway. You have to move out of your comfort zone before it's too late. Break those chains of sin that bind you and keep you from doing God's work. Get up and do God's work - however small the tasks is - just do it. God is there to guide you and show you the way! His way! He will illuminate the path!!
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
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