When a man or woman accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior, they experience such an incredible feeling of peace and completeness – at least, that was my experience. And when this happens, we all want to live out a life of love – serving those around us with joy. I believe we feel this way because when we take on the understanding that we’ve been forgiven for all of our wrongs, and now stand in a place of rightness with our creator, we are overcome with joy.
The Honey-Moon Effect
However, after time goes by, and we begin to put aside the word of God and we choose to spend our time doing other things – our joy starts to fade. We begin to fill our minds with worldly things, as opposed to the things of Christ. And as a result, our thoughts and, subsequently, our demeanor changes. And that, unspeakable, joy we embraced (like a mother’s kiss on the cheek), becomes a cold emptiness.
What follows is the, classic, self-condemnation. We start to look, only, at ourselves and wonder if we were ever truly saved to begin with. Paul states,
“For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do.”
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body?”
Romans 7:19 & Romans 7:24
We wake up and find ourselves in bondage all over again, completely, forgetting what Christ has done for us and what it means to be saved. The worst thing we do, in this situation, is try to shrug it off. We keep it to ourselves and put on a fake smile – with the intent of convincing those around us that all is well (when in reality all disaster has struck). This is exactly what the enemy wants…
Mental Bear Trap
Just like a criminal who victimizes you and then tries to convince you to keep quiet about it – with the old threatening adage, “snitches get stiches”. In the same way, the devil seeks to do this, in order to keep you enslaved under his power. The quickest way to receive help is to ask for it, and be open about it.
9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say, “We don’t have any sin,” we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
1 John 1:9-10
It is, truly, infuriating to consider that the devil continues to trick us in the same ways (over and over again) and we, seem, to fall for it every time. We are warned countless times throughout the Bible to watch out for these traps or schemes.
“8 Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him and be firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.”
1 Peter 5:8-9
Yet, it’s as if we run head first into these mental bear-traps.
The Cheat Code
Nevertheless, allow me to offer you a bit of encouragement, the same encouragement I received that helped me out of a spiritual funk.
First, If you have confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and, truly, believe in your heart that He was raised from the dead, you are going to heaven (period). Because if not, than Romans 10:9 is a bold-faced lie…
Second, none of us are perfect, we all fall short of the glory of God, and sanctification (which is the process of being conformed to the image of Christ) is a life-long process. Stop forgetting that,” IT IS FINISHED”!
Third and finally, we have all the help we could possibly need.
“For we know that all things work for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:28
10 “Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little. 11 The dominion belongs to Him forever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:10-11
The Big Picture
I believe, according to Romans 5:1-5, that we undergo these trials in order to grow in faith and become, more, secure against spiritual attacks. In addition,
“He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
2 Corinthians 1:4
Stand firm in the faith my brothers and sister, and just know that we are all facing the same trials. Stay in the Word of God and pay close attention to your thoughts, because they become your actions. And always remember that, “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and be open about your struggles. If you need some one to reach out to, I’m available.
To conclude, may Yahweh bless you and protect you, may He look upon you with favor and give you peace.
