When the screams come out of the garage, I don’t know what to do.
Should I yell for the kids to be quiet so they don't disturb the neighbors? Should I run with Superwoman speed to swoop them up in case they injured themselves? Or do I just assume they are playing because they've "cried wolf" 100 times now?
I hurriedly walk...and when I get there, I nearly scream too.
A-- rat. Yes, a big, hairy and nasty rat was half in the house and half out, with its body wedged between the siding of my house and my garage door frame. Panic crawled my body like a cockroach in the night.
How did this happen?
If I'd clogged up that open hole, that intruder wouldn't have gotten in.
As soon as I thought this, something occurred to me. The same is true in my spiritual life: if I close up the holes of vulnerability in my soul, the enemy intruder can't easily get in.
What holes do you leave open for attack?
Anger at a sister who offended you three weeks ago when she said your house was dirty?
Unforgiveness toward your husband because he always makes the same mistakes?
Bitterness toward your mom because she forgot your birthday again last year?
Revenge toward your boss because she demeaned you at that meeting?
Jealousy because the woman has far more confidence and comes off "strong?”
Comparison because everyone else has better Facebook vacations than you?
Open holes lead to nasty intruders. I can attest, they start small (think: Raid) and they grow BIG (think: son pulling a big ugly rat out of a hole). Either way, what goes unattended becomes infested with decay in your relationship with God.
Clear out fear and worry of all kinds. Put your foot down and proclaim: Jesus is Provider, Peace and Protection against all of my fears.
Refuse to let holes stay open. Because, in places that are absent of God, we quickly grow absent of peace, joy, life, hope and everything we ever wanted in life.
God has something better for us than what the enemy intends to bring. My friends, let's acknowlede our holes today and patch those things right up under the covering of Jesus' love and forgiveness that, right now, is extended to us.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you that you quietly and softly convict us so that you can continue to help us walk to the best things in life. We submit to you these holes that need patching. We ask you and welcome you to address them. We need help. We need you. We need a new way to move forward when confronted with this issue. Will you show us a new way to react to these things, instead? As we hand you our holes, in repentance, will you fill them with wisdom to direct us on our new path? In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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