If you’ve ever been dared to do something, it probably wasn’t a good thing to do, hence the reason behind the dare. It’s funny how we are sometimes pulled into a situation that we’d never seek out. We might have done our best to remain at a safe distance or a cautious observer of things that went awry, but then there were times when we just wanted to have some fun and played truth or dare.
There was a time when I shoplifted. Well, not really, but, technically, yes. I walked past the cash registers and I guess that was the line between shopping and theft. But here’s the funny part. I was in the process of turning around - honestly - when the security guard, who was suspiciously standing by the doors, told me to stop where I was. I felt violated. I was insulted that I was not given a few more inches of grace. Who was he to call me out? How could he know I had a four pack of AAA batteries in my back pocket? Plus, I had no plan to steal them. Now if I had a plan, that would have been one thing…
I forgot they were in my pocket because, on my way out of the store, I stopped at the magazine rack to browse some bodybuilding magazines. I figured I could use some tips and why not a couple on my way out of the store? So here I am, laying the batteries on the top magazine shelf so I could have both hands free to peruse the steroid-addled articles. Yes, I was a young man looking at a magazine for the articles. I figured I’d forget the batteries on the shelf, I knew myself well, so I decided to just pop the pack into my left back pocket and get back to some necessary reading.
So, back to the security guard. He approaches me and I’m in a quandary. Do I run and hide or do I see what he would like to talk about? Obviously, I chose the latter, but it didn’t stop me from marveling at how he could have possibly known I had batteries in my possession. Some things did not add up and I had to know. He wouldn’t tell me, but he escorted me to an office on the second floor of the now-defunct retail store.
Upon entering the office, there was a woman behind a desk with a wide grin as if she knew a delicious secret. Was I the canary the cat was about to eat? She reveals her little secret. She’d been watching me. I thought that was a compliment until she told me she watched me put the batteries in my back pocket.
I was going to pay for them. I’m not a criminal! I thought about jail for a minute and then she continued trying to make me feel guilty and even ashamed of myself. She wanted me to call my parents and I had to inform her that I had no parents, but a mother and she was deaf, so I could not call her. I hoped that would get me off the hook then she asks if I have any other person who would vouch for me. That capped any thoughts of freedom without ... my goodness. I’m not a criminal. Why am I being treated as such?
So, my brother picks me up and he and I have to sign a form for my freedom. I also have to promise I won’t steal anything ever again. Of course I feel like a schmuck. I feel badly, but it would have been better if I’d gotten caught actually having done something wrong. The devil is a lot like that security agent.
@geoffpark (Unsplash)
He wants to catch you doing something you know is wrong, but he also wants to make you feel guilty and ashamed even if you got caught doing something wrong when you were trying to do something right. He wants to escalate our sins into the Court of Heaven and accuse us of unspeakable harm whether or not we sinned and whether or not the circumstances are legitimate. Satan is not only a deceiver, he seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. If he can’t kill us, he wants to ruin us. When we deal with depression, one thing is certain - the devil has a hand in it and we need to get his dirty hand out of it. But how do we do that? We have to eliminate the legal right he has to attack us.
“If you want something badly enough, just take it. They won’t miss it,” the devil might be heard saying. Just like Adam and Eve, God commanded them to not eat the fruit. However, the fruit seemed good for them to eat and for gaining wisdom, so how could it be wrong to have it? How did they get things twisted? They felt lack, something they had not known, and fell prey to the spirit of larceny in a poor attempt at atoning for their feelings of insecurity. They took what did not belong to them (The fruit belonged to God) and they paid the highest price for their sins and so will every single one of us if we do not repent of our sins and dedicate our lives to Jesus.
What is holding you back from giving God what He truly wants - a deeply intimate relationship with you. There is no sin or group of sins that can separate you from God because of the blood of Jesus. Jesus saves to the uttermost. You can eliminate the legal right Satan uses to attack you in an area of your life by confessing your sin(s), apologizing for committing them, and repenting of, renouncing, and rejecting your sins and open your heart to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
God is waiting for you to come clean and start a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him right now. Let Jesus save you, ask Him to baptize you in the Holy Spirit, allow the Holy Spirit to clean you up, train you up in righteousness, and release you to go and help others. As Jesus sets us free, He wants us to help others gain the same freedom. He has jobs for you to do that literally nobody else can do. There are people you and your life story will reach when they won’t listen to anyone else. What an honor and privilege it is to serve Almighty God!
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father, I am here to honor You because You have brought me to this place right here, right now so I can take this opportunity to realize a sin I have committed and had not thought of it in this manner. I ask that You would help me see all I have done wrong so I can come clean before You and live in right relationship with You. Your Word, the Bible, tells me that, in Jesus, my sins are removed from me as far as the east is from the west and I am trusting that with my confession, apology, and repentance, You will set me free from the sins that so easily entangled me and prevented me from living my best life in conjunction with Your will. I apologize, Father God for (confess anything the Holy Spirit brings to mind) and ask that You would set me free so I can live for You. Please show me how I can bring glory to You and be the hands and feet of Jesus here on Earth so Your Kingdom can come and Your will will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Please grant me the grace I need for today, order my steps, and help me to be a light so others can come to know You. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
Banner photo by David Clode @ Unsplash