Our kitten, Titus loves jumping up on our aquarium and terrifying my daughter's turtle. In the wee hours of the morning, I hear the weight of his body as he grips the side of the tank and pulls himself up to take in a full view of his fishing ground. He knows I hate it and he knows he'll get a stern voice and a spray with the water bottle if he's caught in the act. Plus, the turtle has this look on his face as if he's wondering, "does anyone else see this?".
As soon as I hear Titus' gentle thud on the top of the tank, I jump out of the bed. He immediately jumps down. He's clever enough to even run to a resting position right outside my bedroom and stretch and yawn, as if he's been right there sleeping the entire time. It's gotten to the point that even if I shift in the bed a bit, or if Titus hears the creak of my mattress springs, he'll jump down instantly. This proves to me that he knows right from wrong, but the temptation is great and his feline instinct and nature has an incredible pull on him. I'm willing to bet anything that in his little cat heart, he wants to do the right thing.
What came to my mind were the words of Jesus in Matthew 26:41. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
This is the setting of scripture where Jesus is about to be betrayed by Judas and then crucified, and is praying and travailing in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus had requested of the disciples that they stay with Him and keep watch. Jesus returns three times to find them deep in sleep. The scripture says, their eyes were heavy.
It's important to put on the whole armour of God afresh each day (Ephesians 6:11-18), so that we are able to stand against the wiles or schemes of the devil. Applied practically, the devil's wiles are things that are constantly being laid out before us to tempt us to doubt God or live to satisfy our carnal man. The devil's focus is to keep us unfocused, side-tracked, faithless, fearful, and complacent.
Scripture teaches us that we are not struggling against flesh and blood, but against principalities and spiritual wickedness. So when the enemy starts "messing", remember that we are soldiers enlisted in God's army and that there is a spiritual war raging. It's time to shake ourselves, take a firm stand on righteousness and bring our flesh under subjection. So, take up those weapons of warfare and fight. Let's stay awake!
Be a blessing
No comments:
Post a Comment