“In their hearts humans plan their course,  but the
LORD establishes their steps.” – Proverbs 16:9 NIV

HA! Sure, I’ve got my course all planned…. and so does God. The joke is on me, because most of the time, our paths are not the same. By following my path instead of His, I manage to find every rock to stumble over, and every dead end to run into. I take myself into the mazes and the brambles, and then I cry because I’m lost and hurt. You’d think we would learn that path God lays out for us is straight and clear, but no. He gives us the freedom to choose our own path, and thanks to our stubbornness and insistence that we know best, we end up in compromising and dangerous circumstances.

Wouldn’t it just be so much better, and easier, to submit to His authority in the beginning?

I grew up in a Christian home. By saying that, I mean that we went to church together,  and we ate together, and we prayed and worshiped together.  When I was 5 years, I knelt with my Daddy in my room and opened my heart to accept Jesus as my personal Savior. Many people argue that a 5 year old can’t comprehend what that means; I respectfully disagree. God doesn’t mandate a certain age for salvation, but He does mark and age of accountability – that age when a child recognizes right from wrong, and when he or she can reason why things are right or wrong. Every person is different, and some people never reach it.

For most of my growing up, I was more than content to follow Christ. Something happened that put a chink in the armor of God that I wore, and slowly, insidiously, sin began to creep into my life. It wasn’t through any fault of my parents; they worked at raising a family and staying in God’s Word, and sharing their faith with us. Satan is alive and kicking, and will do anything in his power to separate us from our Creator and Lord. Anything.

Did I say he’ll do ANYTHING?

He will use family members and friends  and complete strangers to pursue us. His entire focus is to turn our faces from God. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to take much to do it. I remember seeing an ouija board for the first time at a slumber party. We thought it was great fun and giggled as we asked silly questions. Then I asked “who are you?” I asked it several times because the indicator kept going off the board instead of answering. Finally the board began to spell “S……A……T…..A…..” That was enough for me. But the reality was that we had let him into our lives that night. That’s all he needs; just a crack.

As I grew, and left home for college, I began to explore the “alternatives” to Christianity. All it really did was to open my life up to the influence of the evil of Satan. It took me into some dark, dark places over the next 20 years or so. Even then, as I began to find my way back to Jesus, I wouldn’t entirely let go of the things that were causing darkness in my life.

It takes complete surrender to Jesus in order to escape the clutches of Satan and his demons, but thank GOD that He has provided us the means to do it! There is an angel army ready to protect us and fight for us; all we have to do is ask. Is that so hard to do? Yes, unfortunately, because we are stubborn and hardheaded. Are you ready to be free; to face the enemy? You don’t need to do it alone, and you can’t win on your own. I’m speaking from years of experience here! Jesus is the answer. Ask Him to be the Kingdom of your heart today; right now. Quit facing the battle on your own. Let He Who is greater than he who is in the world take the lead for a change and rest, secure in His arms, today and for eternity.