the REAL Enemy??

Its easy for all of us to see that the times are changing rapidly. We can see it every time we walk out our doors, pick up a local paper or turn on the television. For some of us, we don’t have to go much further than our own mail boxes and kitchen tables to see that the economy is kicking our butts. Our bills keep growing but our paychecks get smaller.

Life is full of disappointments. Unanswered questions, and for some, dead dreams and lost hopes. Though the circumstances continually change, the questions of “why” haven’t. But My question isn’t about the changing times, its to be expected. My question is;

“where are we standing in the middle of it all?” Are we adapting to worldly standards to cope with what is happening around us, or standing firmly on the side of God and living our faith? Is there any middle ground? I have spoken with my roommate and other Christians on many occasions and always hear the same things, “I do love God and have faith in Him…..”BUT I” need to….God understands.” Are there truly any “buts” in that statement allowed? Does that make us luke warm Christians? Some have said, “no, that makes us human.” I have to agree with that statement. We are flawed……

Human nature begs to construct a picture of what we think God is like, and what He will accept and understand. A kind of spiritual box we can fit Him into. We want a fix on God, so we can continue to do as we please and falsely believe “He understands.” The kind of disappointment or let down that jars our faith, though, also causes the walls of that box to dissolve. The spiritual territory here is unchartered and frightening. And if we’re not careful and go too far, there is that chance of not coming back. We can adapt too much to what the world says “its the way it should be.” I once read a small article that stated; “if you place a frog into a pan of boiling water he will leap out immediately knowing of the dangers. but if you place that same frog into a pan of cold water and turn up the heat gradually, it will adapt to the rising heat and boil to death without ever realizing it was in any danger.” Please understand, God is not a concept to be mastered. We can not live our life “OUR WAY” and expect the God of the Bible to bless that. If we are not careful, the spiritual box we erected will begin to crumble and God will seem strangely absent, as though He left us on our own to sort things out, even when we are screaming the loudest.

I have been told many times that I am real rough around the edges. a little mean spirited maybe?? a bull in a china shop? Ok I can agree with that. So staying in line of that concept of me, I will state this very plainly, “MAN is their own worst enemy.” I have proven this fact many times over in my own life and I believe I have witnessed it many times in the lives of other Christians. we defeat oursleves. Thats not to say that problems don’t occur and emotions and fears don’t kick in. We defeat ourselves when we over look the promises of God and tend to fade into ourselves and do what the world says we should, instead of taking a little extra time to see what the word of God has to say and then mistakingly over look it when we do. I believe it comes down to, its not the truth that we find, its what we do with it when we find it.

Life is rough, times are hard and fears are plentiful. But how did Jesus endure the fear of the crucifixion? He went first to the father. Psalms 56:3 says “when I am afraid, I will trust in you.” Dont avoid your garden of Gethsemane, enter them. Just dont do it alone. We can not be our own worst enemy. We NEED to go to the source of all things and stand on His promises and His word. Tear down the walls of that spiritual box and let the God of the Bible flow freely in your lives.

Always remember, “though I live, yet it is not “I” but Christ who lives in me.” Let Him direct our steps and step away from what the world thinks we should be and doing what they believe we should be doing. Because in the end, we will be wrong.