Monday, January 26, 2004
“…THE SIN THAT SO EASILY ENTANGLES….”
(Hebrews 12:1)
A while back I was reading about David Livingstone, the great British missionary explorer. He was making his way through the African bush country when he was startled by a noise. He turned just in time to see a lion springing at him.
Livingstone tied to jump aside but the lion caught him by the shoulder and began to shake him, much like a cat with a mouse. Livingstone escaped the attack but his later description of that event got me to thinking.
He said that when that lion had him by the shoulder shaking him, it caused a sort of “dreaminess” to come over him. In this state he said he experienced no sense of pain or feeling of terror. Yet at the same time, Livingstone said he was completely aware of all that was happening. He described it as similar to what patients experience who are partially under the influence of anesthetic. Those patients, in a state of "dreamy" consciousness" see all the operation but do not feel the knife that inflicts the surgical wound.
I have tried to imagine what David Livingstone experienced as he was caught in the jaws of a deadly enemy. The rest of his account said that instead of feeling fear or pain, he was “entranced and captivated by an agent whose only intent was his destruction.”
The book I was reading commented that Livingstone’s experience is what it is like for a Christian being attacked by Satan. Instead of being aware of the destruction that is taking place and fearing it enough to fight to get free, the Christian responds with the same kind of “dreamy” consciousness that a temptation is occurring, but “so what?” There seems to be no sense of distress or fear that would provide motivation to escape. Instead we allow the temptation to overcome us and we yield and are destroyed.
As one who has struggled all my life with a specific temptation, I can testify that it happened to me exactly as described by that book. From my early pre-teen years until only a short time ago, I was caught in the grips of Satan’s temptation. I knew it was wrong but I took a dreamy, “it probably isn’t so bad” attitude toward my sin. I saw myself being destroyed without accepting that it was me and that I was actually being destroyed by my persistent sin. I had no sense of terror or that anything was really wrong.
Thanks to the intervention of God through a great and godly friend, I was made aware of what was happening to me. For me, the struggle to free myself is a continuing battle. But it is a battle that is being won a day at a time and sometimes an hour at a time.
At the Cross, Christ freed me from the guilt and the penalty of sin. And that freedom is mine because I have accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. But Satan doesn’t give in or give up easily. He still battles to have me yield to his enticing temptations.
But God has impressed on me His promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
I pray daily that I and all the people on my prayer list will remember the truth of that Scripture and that we will want to find that way out, that we will look for it and take it rather than yield to Satan’s temptations.
Sometimes I take that way out and sometimes I don’t. However, I can say that because of God’s grace to me, I find and take that way out more often now than I used to.
It helps me to remember times when, by God’s help and the prayers and help of my Christian friend; I was able to resist temptation. I try to remember what helped me say, ”No” to sin. Usually it was remembering how sinning would hurt my God, my family and my friend. I just couldn’t do it. God would often provide a way out by creating a distraction in some form.
But I also remember times when I yielded to temptation. I am not proud of it but it happened. It happened when I ignored God’s teaching and refused to look for or take the way out He provided.
So I still pray for God to open my eyes (and the eyes of those for whom I pray daily) to see the “way out” God provides the next time we are tempted. Then we won’t go down in defeat before the battle against temptation even begins.
Jim
posted by jim 2:20 PM 0 comments
Comments:
Post a Comment
