In the scene, the heroine of the story, Rachelle, faces danger from two evil men who have come to capture her. She has supernatural powers, however, and launches full force against one of them. As she does, she notices his eyes turn red.
Aha, he's not a man, he's a demon from another world who can only be killed by plucking his eyes out. With blinding speed, she jams her fingers into his eye sockets before he knew what hit him.
Poof! He vanished in a vapor of black smoke.
What threats do I have to God's joy and peace in my life that need to have their eyes plucked out?
- Difficult work situations
- Messy home office
- Unexpected financial needs
- Overcrowded schedule
- Books unwritten
I could go on. As I write, I ponder how I stop these things from cluttering my mind and bringing me down. A familiar phrase comes to mind:
More than a conqueror.
Romans 8, a chapter that starts with this verse...
1 Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.
...ends with these awesome promises.
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect [when it is] God Who justifies [that is, Who puts us in right relation to Himself? Who shall come forward and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen? Will God, Who acquits us?]
34 Who is there to condemn [us]? Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who died, or rather Who was raised from the dead, Who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as He intercedes for us?
35 Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?
36 Even as it is written, For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers,
39 Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing, NO thing, no THING can separate us from God's love. In the midst of our trials, our self-created messes, our suffering, is Jesus: the ultimate evidence of God's great love for us. Jesus is with us, in us, surrounding us with love, strength, and grace to endure...no, thrive in...any circumstance that comes
our way.
When we choose to truly and fully believe - trust in, rely on, and adhere to - that God is Who He says He is, and that WE are who He says we are in Christ, we can overcome anything that faces us. In an instant we can pluck out the eyes of the evil that threatens us and send it into oblivion.
I pray to You, God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that You may grant each of us a spirit of wisdom and revelation - of insight into mysteries and secrets - in the deep and intimate knowledge of You, by having the eyes of our hearts flooded with light, so we can know and understand the hope to which You have called each one of us - all of us without exception - and how rich is Your glorious inheritance in us, Your saints, Your set-apart ones.
In Jesus name, Amen!
Thank you Mary for this perspective, "What threats do I have to God's joy and peace in my life that need to have their eyes plucked out?" "When we choose to truly and fully believe - trust in, rely on, and adhere to - that God is Who He says He is, and that WE are who He says we are in Christ, we can overcome anything that faces us. In an instant we can pluck out the eyes of the evil that threatens us and send it into oblivion."
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Mary!
You've got my list!
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving me a more accurate perspective of my "threats."