Swept clean and put in order...

Last week was a busy week for me. It started on Monday when my mom was put into the hospital. She is fine now, resting at home... ... but it just made it busy just the same. I didn't just go sit there everyday like I should have... or like I would want someone else to do if it were me in the hospital. But I constantly felt the pull to hurry what I was doing so that I could go up there to be with her. Wednesday morning she had a procedure that required me to go and sit in a waiting room for an extended period of time.... So I loaded up my Bible and my Bible study workbook and off I went.

The waiting room was practically full when I got there. I found myself a chair over to one side... and plopped down. I opened up my Bible study workbook, got out my three different colored highlighters, my ink pen, and my Bible. I started reading in Luke 11:17-26. I am usually distracted if I try to do my Bible study when other things are going on around me... but not this time. Although there were a lot of others around... it seemed like it was just me and God. I know I even made some noises while I was reading... you know... uhmm... uh huh... wooo... I would catch myself letting these noises escape... and just grin to myself.

Anyway... this is just one part that spoke volumes to me...

"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find any. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."

I know this to be true. There was a time about 8 years ago that God really did a work in my heart about being in bondage to something. Through His work and my work.... I was free for about 3 or 4 years. Free. Swept clean and put in order just like the house in the scripture above. The problem is... I didn't permanently fill that empty space up with something else. I did for a while. But... then I fell back into old patterns... thinking that I was free... I let myself think about other things. Now... I realize that not only did the evil spirit move back in... he brought all his buddies with him... because I seem to be having a much harder time getting free this time. It seems so easy for me to fall back into the old patterns after a day or two of being obedient. I wish that I had moved some permanent furniture into that cleaned up space.

When we take a negative out of our lives.... we must turn around and fill it with something positive. Otherwise... there is a gaping cleaned up and put in order space sitting there just waiting on something to fill it. Our enemy is more than happy to find something to fill up that space. That is probably why people that are trying to stop smoking take up something else... like chewing gum or eating lollipops.

The enemy also knows that if we have tasted a little bit of freedom... like the 3 or 4 years that I did.... I am going to want to be there again. Therefore he brings his buddies with him so that it will be much harder this time around. He doesn't want to lose... again. Unfortunately.... he does knows the end of the story. He is going to lose. Big time. And he will do whatever he can to keep us in bondage before he loses. I love this scripture....

"His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
in the end he will look in triumph on his foes" Psalm 112:8

He is going to be the big loser. We will look in triumph over him in the end.... Now... if I can just get him out of my house again.