My illness is increasing, and I was feeling particularly depressed about my condition this morning. I bought a little patio swing, the start of a little alcove I'm hoping to create on the shaded side of my new little house. It's early in the morning, still relatively cool in a week of 99-degree (F) weather. The assembly of the swing isn't tough - nothing worse than DIY furniture.
I spent ten minutes opening the box, putting the basic beams in place, and I was exhausted.
Ten flipping minutes.
And that irritated me no end. On top of the other problems I've faced recently (my days of driving automobiles are probably coming to a close), this was a kicker. Needing to fill my gas can and to grab a soda, I crawled into my car, flipped on the radio, and went over to the convenience store.
And God brought me Richard Ellis.
Ellis is a Dallas minister with a daily radio sermon (I listen on Effect Radio and/or CSN), who speaks very realistically - responds to his own questions with the most reasonable rebuttal, to save you the trouble. Truth be told, he's my favorite media minister, and the only one I donate to.
Today's sermon hit me perfectly, probably because God knew what I needed at that moment. Don't ask how He does it; I'm not God. But He does it regularly - what do I need? There it is. Today, it was how the devil likes to stuff those debilitating thoughts into our brain that derail us from our chosen path from God. Like, y'know, "you're too weak to do anything worthwhile anymore."
Going through the details of the sermon would be immaterial - it's the reaction it built within me that mattered. I left home depressed about what I couldn't do; I returned home reassured that there were things that I could do that were worthwhile, and even those seeming impossible tasks were still possible with time, patience, or help.
The Word of God is a two-edged sword, cleaving the Truth from the lies of the devil and the world. It is a constant battle, for new believers and lifetime Christians alike.
We must make sure that we stay faithful to the Christ and through Him to God the Father.
We must make sure that we are constantly reading and studying the Bible, the literal Word of God, the place where God makes His Truth known to us.
We must make sure that we are on guard against the slings and arrows of the demons around us. The Devil doesn't attack when we're prepared for the attack - he attacks when he thinks we're least prepared to defend our beliefs. He attacked Christ right after His glorious baptism, right after He had this glorious moment of victory. What should YOU expect?
He attacked me this morning, wearing me down over the last several days. And the Lord picked me up again right afterwards.
Thank you, Lord.
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