Monday, June 6, 2011

Are You Hiding Your Habits?

In the Song of Songs, the lover comes, leaping across the mountains & invites his beloved to go higher with him:
"Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, & come with me." (Song of Songs 2:10)
But she is content. She has camped out
"in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside." (2:14)
She refuses to go higher with him, afraid of what it might involve.

Many of us are like that & have become satisfied with where we are. Our Christian life may be like that too. Maybe you've gone so far with the Lord, but are now in a "hiding place". There are those who may be so busy with Christian service, but they really don't want to surrender some of their hidden habits to Jesus. Sometimes, we are as sick as our secrets & end up doing things because of brokenness instead of wholeness. Jesus wants us to live differently & He longs to set us free. He calls us to take His hand & keep climbing. Maye you seem happy, but inside, you're not. And with each call from Jesus, you feel sadder because you know the change might be inconvenient, or even painful.

Breaking bad habits, especially those we have practiced for a long time, take drastic measures. Going higher will involve suffering. Think of your bad habit as a broken bone. Your first visit to the doctor involves pain, because the bone needs to be set straight so it can heal properly. But if you don't go to the doctor & instead, "let nature take its course", your bone will heal improperly & you may be crippled for life. We must trust the Great Physician, even if the treatment is painful & difficult. But it can be done & it will be worth it. Some people may say, "That's just the way I am". But in Christ, we have the power to change. We must strive to be the way He is.

Remember to be aware. We do have an enemy on the prowl who would love to keep us from climbing higher with God. Satan will lie to us & try to fan the flames of our passions & encourage us to live in the moment. He will try to fan the flames of our fears to keep us in that hiding place. He'll tell you that a little bit of back sliding is no big deal. But Jesus always gives us the grace to make the right decisions. We may be sad & discouraged, but He is always there to lead us to the cross where His blood for us was shed, so that we find new life.

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