He's gotta go

My little, nearly 8 year old Joei Kate is very observant; she is a people watcher to the fullest degree. So much so that she felt that the gal working at the Target Cafe yesterday was part of her family because she was watching her so much, (her words, not mine!) Then she told me the name of another Target employee that was smoking, but she was very pretty. She took all this in during the short amount of time it took to eat a little lunch. Observant.

Lately she is questioning the effects of drugs, alcohol & smoking. We have many a conversation about it, the topic intrigues her and she can't wrap her head around why anyone would be tempted by those things, things that have so much harming potential. I love her innocence and I pray so hard that she keeps that view about those things.

So yesterday in the car she asks me if I've ever broke the law. Awesome. I suppose I could have smoked (no pun intended) over the question but I feel like giving my kids as much truth as they can handle is beneficial. Of course I don't over do the details, but I walked the road I walked for a reason and hopefully they can learn from it. So I told her about the time I got caught stealing an obscene amount of make-up. I was 13, about to be 14 years old. Not my brightest moment in life, let me tell you. I shared some of the story and answered her questions then offered up my "excuse," so to speak. I said that I didn't know Jesus at the time so I didn't fully comprehend right or wrong. But as soon as that was out of my mouth I realized no, that's not exactly true Jen. I knew it was wrong to steal. I knew it was very, very wrong as I tried to walk out of the store with an overwhelming feeling of nervousness in the pit of my stomach for the wrong I was doing. I knew it was wrong. What I lacked was the desire to live for Jesus with every ounce of my being. The desire for serving Him that would overwhelm the desire for any temptation to do wrong that would come my way. So I had to amend my statement to my observant little girl. It is what it is.

I love 1 Peter 5:8-9 as it says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."

The devil has sought to devour me on many occasions; he started before I even came into this world and he has not stopped ever since. He does not want me to realize the full potential I have inside of me so he comes after me with thoughts that will derail me from the course that God has laid before me. He tries to invade my relationships, my thoughts, my actions & my heart. And he will do the same to you.

That's why Peter is telling us to stay on alert! It's not time to mess around in this life God has given us. There is no time to fall prey to the silly, pointless temptations that come into our paths. There is no time to say "only this once and never again" because we have no idea how tremendous the consequences of that choice may be. There is no time to allow an offense to sit in our heart, festering and growing into a bitterness that we no longer can control. There is no time to allow mean and cruel words to come out of our mouths because once they are spoken out they can only be forgiven, not taken back. THERE IS NO TIME!

That old devil knows our weak spots and he goes after them continuously. He can't read our mind, but he can read our actions. I love this from Smith Wigglesworth:

"We must resist in the hour when Satan's schemes may bewilder us, when we are almost swept off our feet, and when darkness is upon us to a degree that it seems as if some evil thing had overtaken us. 'Resist him, steadfast in the faith.'"

We can get to what feels like the lowest of lows in our life; we may feel like the pressure is so intense that we can't bare another minute before our top blows off. That's the very moment that our resistance will bring a breakthrough. Don't give in to his schemes or to his temptations. Resist him! James tell us to "Resist the devil and he will flee." So that tells me that our resistance, our standing up to that sucker and saying heck no am I going to bow to this pressure, no way am I going to let you run my mind any longer, no way am I going to receive the thoughts you are sending to my mind, no way am I going to allow that thing to fester in my heart, playing that hurtful conversation or scenario over in my head any longer, no way am I going to go out and give into that temptation you are driving me to, there is NO WAY I am doing that so look out devil because my Resistance is bringing my breakthrough!!

Romans 8:18 says, "For I consider that the sufferings on this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

It's not worthy. Whatever you are facing today, be it pressure, physical hardship, mental anguish, anxiety like you have never faced before, temptation so overwhelming you feel as though you cannot resist it, disappointment, doubt - whatever the case may be in your life today, remind yourself that it's not worthy.

It's not worthy when you put it up against glory. It's not worthy when you look at it from an outside lens, that we are simply passing through this life. It's not worthy when you read God's Word and see that He is preparing a place for you in Heaven. A place so great that He will wipe every tear from our eyes. We have tears now, we have hurts now, we have issues now, we have set-backs and temptations now...but there. Oh my goodness. It's not worthy. It's not worthy.

Be sober. Be vigilant. Be steadfast. Be strong. Be courageous. Be you. Because it's not worthy.