[This message today will make little sense to you if you missed yesterday’s post; just saying.]

It has been written that it’s the ‘little foxes that spoil the vine’ (Song of Solomon 2:5). Funny, is it not... how we tend to overlook or dismiss those ‘little sins that so easily beset us’ (Heb. 12:1) when we are told that even a ‘little leaven can leaven the whole loaf’? (1 Cor. 5:6-7). Friends, I will continue to make the case that we have been lulled into a false sense of security, if not a ‘deep sleep’ when it comes to dealing with all ‘sin’ and ‘deeds of the flesh’ in our lives, as if God is not that serious about us being ‘perfect’ or ‘holy’(Matt. 5:48:1 Pet.1:15-16). King Saul made a tragic decision to believe the same thing...and he paid dearly for it (1 Samuel 15).

Paul gave a somber warning in 2 Cor. 7:1 that we would do well to not only know and memorize, but to act upon. As I heard years ago, God did not give us His word to ‘analyze’; He gave us His word to ‘do’!

I shared in yesterday’s post, a personal experience I had that has brought much freedom and victory to me in a particular area of my life; and it began with a dream. It was a dream and then ensuing ‘revelation’...where I had been hampered by a ‘spirit of self-pity’ for years. You do realize that some ‘issues’ we have in our life don’t have to be that overt and obvious to be a hinderance. But if/when we ignore those seemingly ‘small problems’ or issues, they can easily grow into bigger ones that cause greater challenges down the road. Leaky roofs don’t usually mend on their own.

So that night, back in my parent’s home, I was confronted with the realization that for years, I had allowed the ‘enemy’, or should I say ‘given him place’...(Eph. 4:27) to affect my marriage in an adverse way. Simple, random thoughts out of nowhere could send me spiraling into a ‘funk’. In fact, it applied to other areas as well. Have you ever awoken in the morning and before your feet ever touch the floor, a stream of thought goes through your mind before the day has even begun that puts you in a sour mood, and before you even have that first cup of coffee...you just know the day is going to ‘suck’ and you are already angry about it? Yeah...that use to happen to me regularly. Go figure. You might go to bed the night before with great intentions to rise early the next day and spend time reading your Bible and praying, or maybe working out, etc...but one fleeting thought sabotaged those noble plans.

So there I was sitting up in bed that night as God clearly showed me ‘my issue’...and was calling me to confess and repent of it. He did not have to prompt me twice. I slid out of that bed and upon my knees and the first thing I did with a spirit of humility and with ‘awe’...was to thank the Lord for even showing, or ‘revealing’ this to me. I kid you not, my heart was overflowing with gratitude that God loved me enough to make this known and then was willing to ‘set me free’ of this ‘hinderance’. And because of what all I had been studying and even writing about up to that time, I knew exactly what to do.

After thanking God for opening my eyes to this area of struggle within me, I then ‘confessed it’ to Him and in my heart...repented of  allowing myself to continually fall into a habit of feeling sorry for myself, wallowing in self-pity over any number of things that pop up in our day to day living. I even called out this ‘spirit of self-pity’, or ‘poor me spirit’; and in that moment of confessing and repenting, I knew that the blood of Jesus was being ‘applied by faith’... that cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness (1 John 1:7).

Friends...I kid you not - while it was not ‘dramatic’ in any sense of the word, I was deeply aware that...’something’ had left me. I’m sure some will struggle or question with that fact, but I’ll just leave it at that for now Bottom line is this: I knew what had happened and I was resolved to not...let that ‘thing’ back in...ever! (Matt. 12:43-45). I then sensed a spirit of peace and comfort wash over me (Acts 3:19) as I was still in awe over what had just transpired. I then began to thank the Lord for what He had just done...IN me. Then, back to sleep I went for the rest of the night.

You might say that what I had experienced that night was a great example of ‘another Canaanite nation coming off the land’ (of my heart) which I have written about often here in the past. Before you can go in and ‘possess the land’, there usually is something that needs to be ‘eradicated and removed’ from that territory before we can establish a presence and secure the ‘land’. And let’s not forget- it is not ‘flesh and blood’ (Canaanite enemies) that we contend with, but ‘spirits of wickedness and darkness’ (Eph. 6:12). This should not be ‘news’ to any student of the Bible who professes to know, love, and follow Jesus.

Now this is where it gets...interesting. We know that as we continue on in this walk with Jesus, our hearts will be...tested and tried (Deut. 8:2; 1 Thess. 2:4; James 1:2-4). And this ‘enemy’ will come back to seek ‘re-entry’ (Matt. 12:45; Luke 4:13). Don’t be surprised when it happens, nor make the silly mistake of ‘ignoring’ this enemy...since we are commanded to ‘resist him’ (James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-9). Why do you suppose Paul said to ‘give him NO place’? (Eph. 4:27)

As I learned quickly through this experience, his tactics...which we are ‘not ignorant of’ (2 Cor. 2:11) ...usually begins with a ‘seed’ or a thought (James 1:13-16). Now, would you please turn to 2 Cor. 10:3-5, and also have Eph. 6:16 handy. Are we not admonished to ‘bring into captivity...EVERY THOUGHT...to the obedience of Christ’ in vs 5? Are we not advised to use this ‘shield of faith to quench or extinguish those fiery darts or arrows’ that this spiritual enemy hurls our way?

Friends...I’ve been aware of those verses for years...but really...found them challenging to put into practice because...I was not truly abiding in Jesus as I have come to learn to do in recent years. There’s a reason why I’ve been so passionate and persistent in sharing these daily messages with you for the past four years now. I have found true freedom in so many areas. And while I’m not claiming to have been ‘perfected’...like Paul, pressing on to the mark of the high calling found in Christ (Phil. 3:14)... that does not mean I continue to struggle with or fall into sin either.

So how have I done in this particular area that I shared here with you the past two days? I’m glad you asked :- ). There are still occasions where opportunities arise for me to ‘open that door’ again to a spirit of ‘poor me...let me feel sorry for myself’. But I can tell you I ‘smell him a block away’ and have stood this ground that God empowered me by His grace to ‘possess’. And what a difference it has made on so many levels...which I will share more tomorrow.