I`ve been riding motorcycles for more than two decades. I`ve
seen some bad wrecks. I`ve seen death, dismemberment, and men who were left
disabled mentally. I have been down a couple of times myself, but by God`s
grace I walked away with minor injuries. I hear bikers complain about cars not
looking out for motorcycles all the time, however, is that the real issue?
Could it be more that we, as riders, are distracted or overly confident that a
car will see us? I know since my own accidents, I never trust a cage to see
me—I always assume they will pull out or make that left turn in front of me.
If we make a comparison to our walk with Christ, how often
are we distracted in our lives in a way that leads to a horrible crash?
I used to joke about a friend of mine that could not follow
a complete sentence in a conversation without looking away and suddenly
interrupting the person speaking to him. He didn`t really mean to be rude and
constantly distracted, but his inability to focus caused a great deal of his
problems in life. We used to say, “He saw a squirrel.” He was never able to
hear wisdom or truth when it was spoken to him. He was ignorant because he was
always distracted. Answers that could have changed his life were right in front
of him and he never knew it; not because he was a bad man, or because he was
stupid, but because he was always distracted.
Life is full of distractions; shiny things distract us,
pretty things distract us, new things, old things—things that we have already
visited and should have learned our lesson—and these distractions are the tools
of the enemy. Familiar spirits come back to reclaim their domain. Spirits you
ask? Well, if you believe there is a Holy Spirit, than certainly you should
know that there is also unholy spirits.
We are told in God`s word to let the “Old Man” die and to
walk in the newness of life through Christ. In my own life, I have allowed many
things to distract me from yielding to the Holy Spirit. My pastor made the
comparison that a baptism is like being buried in the very blood of Christ, and
as we arise from the waters of the baptismal pool, we are new creatures—the old
man is dead—and we are to walk in a newness of life, a newness of mind, and
yield ourselves to the whispers of the Holy Spirit.
As for me—I often see a squirrel. Sometimes I will follow
that squirrel down the entangled paths I have already traveled in my life. The
enemy uses anything he can to distract us from the path our Heavenly Father
would have us go down to fulfill his desire for our Earthly lives, and the
glory of his Kingdom.
For some of us, the squirrel is sex. For some of us it`s
drugs or booze. For some it is ego, money, politics, an old flame, or one of the
worst distractions is some evangelistic calling we believe has been placed upon
us by God—when in fact—it has not.
The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. If we remain in
a close, personal, daily walk with Christ, the Holy Spirit—rather than the
futility of our own mind—will lead us. When we run on our own power—an oxymoron—we
will always see a squirrel.
My dear brothers and sisters, I don`t write these words as a
man who has perfected this in his own life; but rather, as a fellow traveler in
Christ seeking to develop the daily habit of yielding myself to the Holy Spirit—and
not to a squirrel on the road of life. I hope to always use this blog as a tool
of transparency and to relate with you as we journey together to finish the
marathon of life. God bless. WP
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