Psalm 36:1
Sinners don’t respect God;
sin is all they think about.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A couple of Sundays ago, we took the children to a local man-made lake to look at Trumpeter Swans that migrate here from Canada each winter .
The lake is adjacent to some pastureland on one side. On the other
side, there is a road that meanders along and leads to a nearby
subdivision. The road is narrow and has a fairly good bit of traffic.
There is a “turn-out” sort of parking lot just off this road where
spectators park to view the swans and ducks. The parking lot is
delineated in part by a row of rather large rocks that wind parallel to
the road.
So while we were looking at the swans, Timothy
discovered these rocks, and he stepped up on one and took off…hopping
from rock to rock – and getting farther and farther away from us. I
called for him to come back, but he was so caught up in his adventure
that he either ignored me – or didn’t really “hear” me calling to him.
Now, I’m pretty sure he heard me…but whether it really registered with
him that “Hey, I better turn back!” or not is another story! At any
rate, I had to go after our boy and admonish him not to go so far – and
to come back we called to him!
So often, we are like a
six-year-old boy on a big adventure. We get so caught up in our sin
that we totally lose focus. I’m not excusing sin…I’m just saying that
the devil does his dead-level best to make it fun on a stick! So while
God is calling, “Come back! You’re headed into dangerous
territory!”…all we hear is the devil whispering, “This is GREAT! You
are happy and having the time of your life. Don’t stop now!" And sin
is all we think about.
We really have to work at staying on
track…because the devil is relentless. He will use every trick in the
book – and the tiniest opportunity – to get us into his camp. He will
make it easy to disrespect God. In fact, he will do all he can to keep
us from thinking about God in the first place! Don’t let this happen in
your life. Keep your focus on the One who loves you like no other.
Never let God out of your sight…never tune out His voice. Always listen
for His call. Drown out the devil’s sly suggestions that you are doing
just fine without God…that there is no need to listen to His voice.
Despite
your best efforts not to wander too far from God, there will be times
when you get a little too far off course…when the lure of the rocks and
what lies around the bend is just too tempting. This is when the devil
will try to convince you to keep on running…to stray a little longer and
have just a little more fun. Don’t be convinced! Keep your focus and
avoid these pitfalls. Make respect for God and His authority your
number one priority - and give Him your full attention, so that there is
no opportunity for the devil to garner your notice.
The draw
of sin is often alluring – and compelling…and it’s easy to fall into the
devil’s trap – and out of respect and obedience to God. Nobody said
being a Christian would be easy…but staying on track is so worth the
effort. How are you doing these days?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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