Sunday has long been my favorite day of the week. For me it is about having a RELATIONSHIP with the Lord and not about what RELIGION that one claims. As long as I can remember I have been able to hear when the Lord speaks and obey when He gives me direction. Some would say I have "child like" faith, which has always been fine in my book. My enthusiasm for wanting to obey and follow where the Lord leads has at times also taught me that He does have a sense of humor.
However, as my journey continues into this new chapter in my life I have had to come to the sad realization that while I may pray and seek the Lord, there are those who can take our "child like" faith and exploit us. While we pray, they prey on us. Always being one to see the best in people, this has been hard for me to grasp.
As I have sought to try and understand what has really been incomprehensible, the Lord helped to shine a light on the situation. This morning part of the sermon was on John 8:43-45.
43 "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear my word. 44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 :but because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me...
This goes back to what I wrote about several weeks ago - the Lord can send people into our lives so that we can truly be their helpmate, but if their lives are shrouded in the darkness of their past - which they strive to eloquently hide, their is nothing we can do to help them. Sometimes the schemes become so entangled that what is the truth and what is an entangled web of lies all blends together.
The Lord will truly help those who help themselves, but if they think life owes them a silver spoon, then their is nothing we can do to help them. If they will not listen to the Lord and see the blessings He has tried to impart on their lives, but instead chooses to make up lies in their quest to prey on someone new, then we have no control over that. It again goes back to free will.
Has this shaken my faith? No, in fact it has actually made my faith that much stronger. I am the Lord's child and I praise Him and look to Him both in good times and bad. I can rest at night knowing that I truly lived as the wife the Lord called me to be. But in the end, when we are unequally yoked, only the Lord can appreciate what we tried to do. When one spouse prays while the other is only looking for prey, reaching all the potential and blessings the Lord tried to impart is impossible.
Am I angry and bitter? No, because again the Lord has this and He will give me back all that I have lost. He is my Father and Protector. He promised me in Isaiah 54:17 that "no weapon formed against me shall prosper." I have seen Him work in countless ways in my life over the years and I can have peace in knowing that He is a man of His word. In the mean time I continue to pray "Lord, forgive him because he knows not what he does...Please have mercy on his soul."
PRAY and PREY - they sound the same but the Lord knows the difference.
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