I sometimes find myself picturing Satan as the Joker from
the infamous batman series… This is no laughing matter (see what I did there?).
The Joker is a maniacal, devious friendly foe. What do I mean by this? The
Joker uses tricks and gimmicks to capture his prey. The Joker has a morbid
sense of humor. The Joker will first befriend you then unsparingly bury you
alive. Sounds like Satan to me. (No, I am not literally saying the Joker is
Satan… I am saying they have similar character traits)
Bewildered is an understatement. It is ONLY by the Grace of
God I get anything done. I am so easily distracted. I am so easily stressed. I
am so easily led astray. (Now I know why Jesus compares His children to
sheep—we are stupid). Sometimes I feel like an obnoxious orange bobber in the
middle of the ocean—just floating—no direction--when all of a sudden with just
one tiny little bite-- I am 20 feet under. Can anyone relate to this?
I whole heartily believe that many times, if not majority of
the time, Satan attacks us with the simplest of things (hence my Joker
reference).The more I think about it the more I realize majority of the things
that distract, stress and mislead me are not bad things! The punch line: every
time I take my eyes off of Jesus (for anything good or bad) not only am I
sinning, but I am giving Satan a good ole’ laugh. When I take my eyes off Jesus
my heavenly joy is stolen and its place is stress and disobedience.
Nonetheless in those moments I constantly feel a tug at my
heart telling me to give it up, “give up your life Bekah”. I've always been the
stubborn type but this is different… I truly desire to give it all to Him- but
it is like my flesh sinks its claws deeper, making it practically impossible to
pull away… in the words of the ever so wise Paul “I do what I don’t want”.
The “pick up your cross” scripture rings with new meaning
now. Jesus insisted on picking up the cross daily as protection: to protect us
from Satan’s games. It is in the daily battles of ending sins reign in our
heart and pursuing holiness -- that Jesus reveals Himself to us. It is a
bittersweet deal… it takes hard work and discipline but God keeps His promises…
maybe that’s what I was meant to say to someone today: Ye of little faith—God
is faithful.
There is hope! And our hope is this… Jesus is standing fearlessly in the middle of
our raging seas—calm and collected—lying to rest every perilous wave.
*Lord, i will keep the faith. i will pursue the cross. i will put away harmful and soul-devouring habits. And i will do this through the repetition of obedience, the power of the will and Your unending mercy and unimaginable strength. Thank you for redemption, grace and the message of the Cross- i am forever unworthy and i will forever praise Your name. You rescued me when i was dead, you rescued me when i thought i didn't need saving, and you will rescue me from the enemy’s futile attempt to steal my heavenly joy.*
Hope
i am alive
heart on fire
unbind.
Tenderness so deep
with eyes wide open
i bleed.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Deliverance for the wretch—
here i am
not drowning in my own
desperate attempts.
