Matthew 24:43
But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
It is not for us to fully understand why things happen, yet events happen right in front of us when we are full and present in the midst of it. The Bible clearly states that the enemy comes to seek and destroy, sometimes it is right in front of our eyes and we do not see it. How many things has the enemy stolen from you while you were fully awake and aware of your surroundings? Have you ever been so caught up in what you were doing that you missed a major issue in your life? Often we think because we are Christians that we are exempt from the “bad” things in life, not so, bad things happen all around us and sometimes we are in the midst of it and do not realize it.
I speak these words because tonight while playing an innocent game of volleyball with some girlfriends, a thief came into the indoor volleyball court and stole an employee’s purse while we were right there. Did we see the person who did this? Nope and there were nine of us all together playing volleyball while the only employee had gone to an upper part of the building to use a computer for ten minutes. I can not explain the confusion that encumbered all of us. How did we miss him? Why had we not at least heard something? Now granted we did not have a clear view of the front desk, yet it just seems like one of us would have noticed something out of the ordinary. The purse was located in a dumpster nearby and her keys were found along with eight dollars cash, but her camera and wallet were gone. The thief had accomplished what he set out to do and he did while we were all awake and in a well-lit area.
How does the enemy do this? Let’s take this senerio of the thief coming into a building where there were four cars in the parking lot, well-light areas and obviously people could catch him at any moment, and place it into our lives. How many times do couples find themselves in divorce? One day they are in love head over heels and then a few years down the road they can barely speak to each other. A thief has come and stolen what they had for it knew where they were headed….true joy. A child is born and raised by good people and then one day is strung out on drugs, not having a clue how this came to be. A thief came in and poked at a hurt in the persons life and now has stolen what joy could have come. A Christian is following God and obeying His word and suddenly finds himself growing distant and cold with God, challenging every thing about his Creator. A thief came in and right in front of him, began to send doubts his ways, causing disbelief. Satan needs not to wait until the dark of night to do his evil business, he can perform it right in front of us and we can’t even see it.
Can you see how many times this thief has just come in the middle of our lives and destroyed what was good? This is how Satan works. Not always stealing in the middle of the night while we are sleeping, he comes while we are awake and fully aware of our surroundings. This is why we need to be on guard at all times and prepared with the knowledge of the things of God so that we will not be distracted or destroyed. If a man knew the thief was coming, would he not prepare his heart and mind for such an event? I urge you to hold fast to the things of God and saturate not your life with the things of this world so that you may not become like the many who have fallen into Satan’s traps. Daily renew your mind in the things of God and find yourself in the Word daily. Put on the full armor of God so Satan can not easily deceive you.
Step Upon the Golden Road with Me! 