Rats

Oh Rats!...it is an explanation that we casually use in fun or jest when something goes awry ..but the reality is.... A "rat" is topic that sends quivers down my spine. After seeing a suspicious sighting near to the house a trap was set on a low fence in the backyard, and sure enought the next morning the trap had done its job. We see them, talk of them, get sick at our stomach thinking about them...and hope that none of them choose to wander through our property lines...but reality hits and they have no qualms or boundaries about where they trespass. This one choose the wrong backyard...what is it about those rodents that sends those quivers down my spine at the mere mention of their name? They are crafty, cunning, sultry in color lurkers, who carry diseases, are quick on their tiny feet, and whose tail alone just wiggles trouble.

Mel was headed out of town and, just before he left he had checked the trap...but had no time to retrieve the catch. Later in the day when we touched base...he warned me that it had been activated and that he would take care of it when he returned. There was just something that made me crawl with disgust knowing it was out there so I went and looked....and sure enough it was just as he said. I can do this.....I can get rid of this nasty thing...I don't want it hanging around til he gets back...I can do this...so I went to the garage...got a couple of pliers...a paper bag and set our on a venture that I would never have thought I would be courageous enough to do..but I did...I got it done...almost lost my stomach in the process...but did live through it which is more than I can say for the rat.

And what relevance does this have for a Christian devotional....rats...they are lurking all around us. They are the manipulative, dishonest unwanted creepers who have no moral boundaries...and ease around and slip in the crevices of our heart and mind.
They are not easily spotted for they make their way through the tunnels of darkened camouflage, careful to not be exposed.
What is it that keeps you up at night? What makes you bite your fingernails, or be flattened with despair, or consumed with insecurity, or feel unworthy or burdened with with a load that seems unbearable...I think that it might be the rats that have not yet been trapped.

1 Peter 2:16
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

We consciously and unconsciously do let creeping and unwanted critters of nasty origin invade our boundaries.(Fear, disappointment, envy, slander, malicious behavior, lying etc) And the only way to stop them is to set a trap that entices them enough to bring them close enoughto snap them into entrapment. We know that they are lurking, for they occasionally are spotted in our behavior, our decisions, our selfishness and our pride. And when they are spotted it is then that we are to take action to rid them of their residence. Only one thing can be in one spot at one time. We have a choice ...do we want to be filled with ratty indulgence or riches that have lasting value? Jesus can spot the ratty indulgence and rid us of it...if only we are willing to let him replace the old with the new.

It takes desire, commitment and faith on our part and the finesse and wisdom that Jesus alone can provide, to rid us of these unwanted lurking evils.(it is funny about this word evil...I really do not like it at all and try to get around it at every turn....but today that was the only word that fit...and it is kind of like facing the rats..evil is a reality and sometimes I just don't like facing the fact that is lurks within me) . ....But 'evils' can be conquered....and will be conquered when we ask Jesus to help expose them. Ratty indulgences....or lasing riches....the choice is ours....but only one thing can be in one spot at one time! The rats or the riches!

Dear Lord, Thank you for your constant oversight of my heart and mind. Help me to not let the evil stuff lurk and replace it with the riches of your love and mercy and grace and wisdom.....and understanding. Thank you Lord for always listening to my prayers...and leading me....to the path of your righteousness. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!
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