STOP thief!

Last week was one of those weeks where something really awesome happened and then almost right at the same time something terrible happened.  This happened so many different times last week.  It got to a point where it was almost comical, well maybe not because I wasn’t doing too much laughing.  I would have just a few minutes to enjoy and bask in the wonderful news and then something would come crashing down and find me crying.  I found myself actually saying, “Why is God doing this?  Has He forgotten us and our situation?  Did we do something wrong?”  In the same breath trying to still rejoice in the great news that I just got an hour ago.  This past week has been a struggle to say the least.  There have been so many ups and downs. 

I do not remember what I was doing and where I was when God reminded me of this.  All I can remember is that He reminded me and I’m so very glad He did.  Sitting among people God wanted me to hear Him loud and clear and I did.  He brought this scripture to mind:

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” ~ John 10:10 (NLT)

So what does this scripture have anything to do with the week that I had God?  Well let’s look at exactly what it is telling us.  The thief, being the devil, has come to steal some things from us.  What is he stealing?  We know that stealing belongings will not serve him any purpose.  However, stealing those moments of happiness and excitement will gain him a lot.  If he can cause our joy filled moments to become moments with tears and sadness, it brings him great pleasure.  We start to focus on how things are and that things have gone so wrong instead of life being a gift.  He comes to kill... really?  He tries to kill our bodies?  No!  He wants our love and faith in God to die.  If we allow those moments of joy and happiness to take our eyes off of what God has done for us, our faith slowly dies.  He comes to destroy what has been built up.  When things start to pile up and we start to focus on that, we tend to forget all the things God has done for us and what He continues to do.  Our eyes only see how bad things have gotten and how rotten our lives have become.  We can’t forget what the rest of the scripture says.  It tells us that God’s purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life.  So when all those wonderful things were happening, it was God showing us that He loves us.  He promises us that our lives will be satisfying.  Starting to question and doubt doesn’t sound like a satisfying and rich life to me.

My challenge for you this week… we all have those moments in our lives.  Have you allowed them to take your eyes off of what God is doing for you and allowed the thief to steal those moments from you?  Remember what His purpose is and that He follows through with His promises.  It is us that don’t follow through with our part.  It’s time to get back up and dust the dirt off and say “GET BACK SATAN!”