Well, this morning I got up and was performing my daily ritual of things that I do before I even walk out of my bedroom to get my coffee. Make bed- check, pull back curtains- check, turn off fan- check, pull back 2nd set of curtains... as I pulled back the 2nd set of curtains I felt something tickling my arm so I looked down and there was a big fat brown spider walking ... no bounding up arm toward my shoulder. Then, without even thinking, I did some crazy herky-jerkey speed dance as I tried to get it off. I never knew I could move that fast. And who knew that I could contort my body like that? It was amazing. But back to the spider... it totally took me by surprise. The last thing I expected when I woke up was to be attacked by a spider. I don’t know if it was because I hadn’t seen one in my bedroom in a while or maybe I was living in denial... I don’t know? But the fact that I let my guard down and that it was able to take me by surprise is my own fault. A few months ago I wouldn’t have been alarmed, I actually would have expected it. Sure, I would’ve still shook it off my arm and killed it, but it wouldn’t have surprised me like that... no way!... because I would have had my guard up.
It’s kind of like that with stuff I deal with in my life too. It’s like if I have a weakness or an issue in a certain area of my life, I need to ALWAYS have my guard up in that area. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since I’ve fallen into that “sin” or how long it’s been since I’ve given-in to the temptation to do whatever it is that I’m susceptible to. It’s always on the horizon. Because as surely as I get cocky and think that I don’t have anything to be concerned with in that area of my life, Bam! It’s sneaks up and I end up doing something that I didn’t want to do. Now don’t go gettin’ all hyper-spiritual on me, by thinking that you’re above this, because you’re the same as me.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say that I’ve got an issue with anger. And let’s say that when I’m driving is one of the times when anger seems to be able to get a grip on me (because of the way people around me drive). As sure as the the sky is blue, the biggest retard on the road is gonna end up driving in front of me 10mph under the speed limit or someone’s gonna ride right on my butt even though I’m already speeding. It’s just gonna happen. I need to bank on it. But when I see that’s an issue, and I deal with it scripturally, and I get victory over that area, I need to still keep my guard up. Even if I haven’t given in to road rage in a long time, I need to be aware that it’s always a possibility. I need to stay alert.
Or let’s say that you have a problem with pornography on the internet (in all my years in pastoral counseling, this is the biggest issue that people have had, hands down). It’s like, if someone has an issue with it. They repent, they set-up safeguards to prevent it (i.e., no private times of being online, installing covenant eyes software, having an accountability partner, etc.) and they do great. But, for some reason, as time passes and they see that there hasn’t been an issue with this in a while, they forget about that area being a weakness. So they start looking at the computer alone in there bedroom or office and they do fine. Then they start getting confident in their ability to resist. Then one day, in a time of weakness, Hello! There they go again. And they wonder how it could ever happen. It happened because you let it, stupid!
The Bible clearly tells us to
“be sober minded, be watchful. Because our adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8)
He’s just waiting for someone to get comfortable and because he's looking for an opportunity to jump on you. He’s looking for you to forget.
So, when we have weaknesses or areas that we struggle with we’ve got to ALWAYS be on our guard. Because as soon as we let our guard down and forget that we live in the jungle surrounded by millions of insects and things that crawl around... we’ll end up with a spider on our arm and doing some crazy jungle dance, trying to get it off!
On My Guard Again,
Jim
PS - Today's pictures are totally random. The first one is of our 7 year old walking lint roller/Boston Terrier (lulu). The fleas here are terrible and she's allergic to them. She will literally spend hours rolling on the floor scratching herself. In the picture she had just spent some time rolling and scratching on a blanket and ended up with lint all over her butt. Then the next pic is of a giant moth we saw on our front porch (had to throw at least one insect photo in here), the next one is of a doll one of the kids made for MJ. It's made out of a fruit that we have here on the property. It looks like some kind of voodoo doll if you ask me, kinda freaky. haha. Then the last picture is of a man who lives here on the mountain that rides his cow like a horse. Yep, that right... like a horse. Anyway, just some random photos today. Hope you liked them: )
No comments:
Post a Comment