No Power of Hell

"My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent."

Prov. 1:10

I wish I could tell you how powerful those words of In Christ Alone have been in my life. "No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hands." We will falter, but never ever ever will we be plucked from the faithful hands of our Savior whose plans for us are beyond our ways. 

Whereas God is so very instrumental in our lives, He gives us the ability to make choices as well. Such choices can alter the course of our lives in dramatic ways, but once we make the ultimate choice to submit to the Holy Spirit's work in our hearts, God's ways and thoughts began to permeate the way we think about choices. 

Even if we still make wrong ones. Because God in three persons is perfect and God the Son lived a perfect life here on earth does not mean that once we become sons and daughters of His that we become sinless and perfect. We are beautiful creations, once hell-bent on self destruction, that are now hopeful...with a few glitches here and there that remind us constantly of our fallibility. While we still sin, we are not without conviction, the ability to forgive and be forgiven, and hope. 

Hope has been huge in my life. It's a mainstay, and a tower of strength and perseverance when I can't see the path of life 5 feet in front of me. 

I was told that my name is Greek and the meaning of it is "Strong and high tower". I joked throughout my teen years about that because I'm the shortest of the girls in my family and will be the shortest since my brothers are destined for over 6 foot heights. However, as time went on, I kind of looked at it a different way. 

That meaning came to symbolize less of who I was and more of who Christ was in me. I noticed that when I strayed from the faithful hands of my Father that I lacked everything I needed to fight life's battles. When I was enjoying periods of closeness with Him, I felt invincible knowing that His peace held me through everything. Peace became strength and His strength caused my spirit to rise. 

I say all of that to talk about closeness. I am who I am when Christ is on my side. I get discouraged and experience dry seasons and then there are seasons of so much rain that I begin drowning in Him. Sometimes dry seasons are my own fault due to the choices I make and I separate myself from His peace for a time. 

I look at the scripture of Proverbs 1:10 as a push. There is so much in this culture to draw my attention away and each of these things are designed to cause pleasure for a time but become your biggest chain of regret after a while. Sometimes, I have chosen to "consent" and I have been "enticed". These times are when my spirit shrinks and shrivels in its self-created desert. 

But scripture says a few verses later...

"My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path;"

1:15

We will stumble, fall, cry, wonder why we are where we are in life, and wish for a million comforts when we stray. But only one will do. Let us not walk in the way with those people or things which drag us to destruction. Let us walk in the way of the Lord and experience the kind of security, strength, and sense of rising like no other. 

Love you friends, 

Maddy-