Lately, I’ve seen plenty action inspired by The Enemy.
“If he can’t have our souls, he’ll have our peace, our joy, and our hope.”
Satan inspired, human acquired. It’s not sinful unless we choose to possess it.
Satan spends more time antagonizing Christ-Followers than he does trying to keep the world convinced they have it all.
Why?
Why mess with the minority when he reigns the majority?
Even within my own household, I have experienced an uptick in chaos, confusion, and contradiction between our members. Beyond these walls, I see friends and extended family members that claim Christ, yet are on the path of self-sabotage. Over and over again we fall for the inspiration of Hell itself. All the while, not fully understanding the Power that possess us.
I must admit, the greatest mystery in my own life is the power of the Holy Spirit. I don’t fully grasp the gravity of what lies within me; and yet, I am so worn, so beaten down, and so heavy-burdened by the chaos I allow to enter my own life, that I find myself rejecting the opportunities to turn that mystery into understanding.
So what’s the real problem here? Is it that Satan does his business against us and does it all too well and often? Or, is it our fault for forgetting that Satan has been defeated for over two millennia?
What a distracted bunch we are.
What misguided, lazy, comfy, content yet discontented set of “followers” we are!
How is a light supposed to shine under cover?
What is the answer to obtaining peace, joy, and hope?
It’s not found in one another, that’s for sure.
It’s not going to be hanging out in our children, our spouses, and our family get-togethers.
It won’t be found in our churches, our businesses, or our possessions.
It’s found within the mystery of the Holy Spirit.
Everyday we settle and keep Who He Is a mystery to ourselves, is a day where we have resigned ourselves to the illusion of defeat and mediocrity.
I’m fatigued with restless tongues, irritated attitudes, hateful dispositions, Debbie Downer reasoning, and hopeless mindsets. Not just in your life, but in my own.
Sure, the sand left in Satan’s hourglass is scant at best, but what does that mean for us?
It means we’re about out of sand as well.
Each grain that falls is another moment we cannot refresh and renew. It’s a missed call to love, to offer hope, to encourage, and to reject the stealing, killing, and destruction of our lives.
If we just are called to bide our time until we are rescued from this place and Satan is put in his, then by all means, carry-on as you have been.
But, while we are called to endure, we are also called to live life abundantly. The abundance part we can’t understand if we don’t understand the Giver of the abundance. That abundance is only found in Christ through His Holy Spirit.
What the world needs in order to change is for you and I to be who we are expected to become: free, alive, and whole. The exact antithesis of what I titled this post.
-Alicia.