Devotional: Goalie

Psalm 141:4

Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.

Every morning I indulge in a simple pampering ritual. I exfoliate my face with plain white sugar.

I'd like to explain that I do not eat or ingest refined sugar except in very limited amounts.

So I wet my face, pour about a Tablespoon of sugar into my hand and scrub my hands together and pull my hands forward to apply the sugar to my face. It won't fall off your hands since your hands are slightly wet. This particular morning I apparently picked up a clot of it and my mouth was slightly open as I brought my hands forward. The clump jumped out of my hands, bypassed my taste buds and shot down my throat! My reflexive swallow sent it down without a sound, just a look of shock. It made unlawful entry into my system!

While this story amuses me and the others I've told, it also reminds me that there are a lot of things that shoot past our "goalies" and can eventually change our "baseline".

You're just sitting there, enjoying TV with your husband and suddenly there is a bevy of barely dressed beauties bouncing all over the screen usually with suggestive gestures....and even if your hubby looks away immediately, being the visible creature he is, that flash is enough to go into his mental file that will pop up and bother him unbidden. He didn't go looking for that, but it's there all the same.

Or because you get busy, you let your daily time with the Lord slip once. Then maybe a few weeks later, you have to let more than one of those little get-together's with God go. Then something big happens and you miss a whole week. Suddenly you are so busy you have no time and have lost your alone time with God and you are wide open to an attack. He doesn't even have to be subtle. You suddenly start believing lies that he whispers, and find that you are reacting differently to trials, like trying to figure your own way out instead of going to God. And when you do go to God, it's more like a kidnapper's demand list rather than a talk with someone you love.

Then you get angry because he's not "granting" your "wishes". And you are acting like the Children of Isreal when God brought Moses to release them from slavery. They complained about everything, even though God showed His hand mightily, they still whined and wished themselves back in slavery. Trust Him? Never. That's why they ended up out there for forty years! I don't want my trials to last 40 years, do you?

It just shows that we have to keep on guard at all times so that we don't get any of these seemingly innocent attacks because they are within the ranks so to speak, they are so difficult to detect. Just like that sugar shot down my throat without even the benefit of the sweet taste, satan will rush things past you before you even have the time to analyze it. Keep you busy so you can't think it through.

This week, join me in praying that God will guard our hearts, minds, and souls to make this type of sly deception obvious to us so we can protect ourselves. And if you're, like me, have lost your daily devo time with God due to business, sacrifice something else this week to get it back.

Quit telling God you love Him and SHOW Him. Make Him smile.

Hope you have a wonderful God-kissed day!