Thief

It was just going to be a short boat ride...the lake had been closed the weekend before due to flood waters and I am a "wind in my face" junkie. We began our usual routine of my husband lowering the boat while I took the covering off of it beginning from the back to front. And as I was uncovering it I noticed mud marks on the carpet...strange because I knew Mel had just cleaned it the weekend before...but I casually dismissed the notice...and continued...as I got to the front I saw two white boxes the size of a DVD player sitting on the front seats.... and asked Mel if he knew what these were...he said no what are they???? Then he got down examined them and realized they were the amps for the sound system in the boat.

All wires had been severed...and there were a bunch of them...someone had come to the marina, gone under cover, literally, and I guess with a flash light and a screw driver and a pair of pliers dismantled the whole sound system and laid it across the front seat. All seats were put back in place and there was only a screwdriver and the two boxes remaining. Our guess is that someone must have scared the culprit and they had to get out of there quick with a plan to come back...and retrieve the stolen goods...but we must have beat him. Bummer...for him but a much bigger bummer for us.

There those boxes sat...unconnected and unresponsive...and unable to perform the purpose they were created for. Have you ever felt that way? Bet so...I know I have. There are times when I feel like my wires have been severed...and my ability to be joyful or confident or secure has just been snapped from my power source.....and I sit unresponsive and unable to do and be what it is God has called me to be. There is a thief...who comes undercover when we least expect it and and knows just how to disengage us from Christ's power source. But unlike that stereo amp that has no life of its own...I do....and I can fight back....but I have to be willing to stand up to my source of contention. Not in an angry way or a defensive way but in a stand for truth vs a submission to lies.

I get tossed around by my emotions...and lose sight so many times of simple truths....and that is when my wires get snapped....and I am lifted to a place where I do not belong. A place of disheartened, beaten down, frustrated, often times angry, defensive behavior that has no place in God's kingdom. We each are wired differently for God's different purposes...
and if we try to stay plugged into his way...we have a much better chance of being happy and content. But the thief is lurking...trying to find his way into our hearts...and trying desperately to steal our joy. We need to activate a security system within us that notifies us when the walls of truth have been compromised by his lies. He is manipulative and crafty and knows just how to find our weak links. He knows when our guard is down and just what entices us when we are weary. He knows how to go undercover and find his way straight to the heart of our desires as well as our disappointments.

But we do have an advocate who can/does manage to offset the thief's attempt to interfere with our forward progress to be who God has created us to be. We just have to trust Christ's way, stand on His truth, accept his hand of strength and move forward with confidence right along side him. A thief may go undercover but he will never be able to hide from God....and neither can we! Better to be standing with God in his light than to be manipulated by the thief in the dark.

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

And the point of the story is this: We do have the ability to stay connected with all wires attached....if we humbly depend on Christ to be our security.

Dear Lord, Oh how I am so guilty of letting my guard down and disarming my internal security system of your love, your grace, your strength, your way....and I get in trouble every time. Please Lord, help me to activate that system and be on guard for the thief who lurks constantly seeking and searching for ways to steal my joy. Catch him please Lord before he catches me...
Amen


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