Satan is an opportunist!

I readily confess that I am dealing with a little post vacation hang over the past few days. We had such a good time in Gatlinburg with our kids and also with my parents. It has been hard for me to let this go. My emotions and feelings have been all out of whack and I have had a hard time putting a finger on it. I was reading in John E's book this morning and was reminded that Satan is an opportunist. He is going to look for any chick in our armor any crack in our wall and he is going to try and sneak in there and mess with our hearts/soul/spirit.

I think one of the things that gets me in trouble is I spend so much time thinking about the upcoming vacation and I put so much thought into planning it and looking forward to it that once it is over there is this empty moment in my life. I sense that I am grasping to look forward to the next big thing that's coming down the pipe in life and its not there. As I was reading this morning I began to pray against this feeling and this emptiness in my heart. I found myself bringing the power of Jesus against it in order to find out what is at the bottom of it. In times like this I often experience a distance from God, yet in these moments is when I need His presence the most. So I prayed for His presence to become greater in my life. I prayed that He would help me identify my thoughts and feelings and to rid my heart of anything polluting my spirit. I believe this to be a prayer I will keep with me for some time and I seek to follow where God is working and live beyond my own concepts and ideas of life.

I find it kind of humerous that I am dealing with this and the fact that I am preaching on joy this Sunday. I do feel like something is attempting to rob my joy. This is one of those funks that even when something great happens the feeling only lifts for a moment and then it comes back again and settles right there in my heart. I am trusting God to walk me through this time...but I am also trusting Him that I will learn from this and develop a better mindset towards upcoming events in my life, while balancing that with the real life week to week responsibilities I have been entrusted with in family, church, and life. Jesus I pray that you would be my all in all and that your joy would be my strength. God you are so good to me and you have blessed me so. May my life continuw to be a blessing to you and to others. May your Spirit fill me and cleans me of anything that would bring me down and may your joy riegn in my heart. A-men
Walking Together,
Your Dreaming Pastor