Originally published Monday, 08 June 2015.
I have been known to step into a deep dark place.
It's a lonely place.
A-no-one-cares-about-me place,
an I'm-never-going-to-amount-to-anything place,
an I-will-always-fail kind of place,
a God-will-never-use-a-girl-like-me place.
I-am-not-worth-anything place.
It's risky, because this hole of hopelessness can easily become a trapping cave-of-no-return. A cancer that grabs the anesthesia of alcohol, addiction, disorders, complexes, shopping, porn or whatever else if not careful.
Due to my past struggles with this place, I've realized,
you have to watch for the invitations to this place of isolation.
Because this place makes you miss Gods' face - and it leaves you in disgrace.
It makes God small and problems big.
It takes shame and guilt and places them on the centerstage of the heart.
It places you so deep into yourself, you can't see others that need you.
Our God is not a haunter and taunter and he never developed a hell-hole like this.
Now I know, I have to run like the wind
when the devil starts to lure me in with lies.
I run hard, and I run fast because even the smallest step into that blackness
includes a return trip with miles of internal turmoil.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Ja. 4:7
Sometimes we think our resistance is recognizing this place or praying against this place or throwing some truth out against this place, but oh no, my friends, it involves even more...
We aren't called to sit around and have a light coffee before we leave,
we are called to flee- ASAP!We aren't called to go through the motions of life,
but to eyes open and to kick ourselves into high gear.We aren't called to wait for a rescuer - a knight in shining armor.
We already have one - his name is Jesus - and we are already rescued.
And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. Mt. 5:30
God is not afraid of instructing us to take big measures against our small steps into these dwelling places of lies. This means we see beyond our world, into the transcending world around us. We become aware, looking, understanding, interpreting, searching, fighting and surrendering. We flee.
We flee by not throwing out verses, but by letting them become the knitting of our heart.
We flee, not by praying for our will, but by praying for his.
We flee, not by accepting sin, but by rejecting it.
We flee, unveiling our heart of agony to our maker. (Feelings aren't bad, but distrust of God is.)
We flee by choosing the right counselors to instruct us when we become blind in our life.
We flee by letting go of the tide of our emotions, to grab on to the ocean of God's truth.
We flee by extending grace to ourselves on hard days.
We engrave these truths upon our heart like stone:
We are more than just conquerors in Christ Jesus. Ro. 8:37
Nothing can overtake us, because God has overtaken the world. Jo. 16:33
There is no weapon forged against us that can prosper. Is. 15:47
We know nothing can really ever come against - no cancer, no abuse, no financial issues, no heartache, no agony, no marital issues, no heartaches, no _______.
We know it doesn't matter,
because if we've lived it, he has beaten it.
So, dear friend, be not discouraged, but be wildly encouraged: If he conquered the world, he can conquer your agony, your despair, your hopelessness and your fears.
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