July 24, 2020: A Life of Darkness or A Life of Hope...It's A Life To Often Shared.

God has given me an opportunity in counseling with men who are struggling in this very dilemma...living a life of heartache and despair while trying to hold on to the very hope and forgiveness God has given them.

So many of us try to hide our wounds whether they be external or internal...caused by others or self-inflicted. I, myself, tried to hide the wounds of being molested as a child for many, many years. It was not until I surrendered to God my whole life, especially that little black box hidden way down in the closet of my life I did not want anyone to know about.

As I realized that Christ died for not only my sins but also for the sins that other people put on me, I became free of the prison of shamefulness and the darkness that I kept on hiding from myself and from others. By becoming open with my wounds and receiving God's total forgiveness and redemptive cleansing power, I was now free to speak to others who struggle with the same forgiveness and shamefulness in their lives. This God-given power can be found in the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us as Christians and can only be realized through our full and "absolute surrender to Him.

Ephesians 2:1-5

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the [a]course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

You see, even though we are no longer of this world and are no longer walking according to the prince of the power of the air, (Satan), we can still give Satan the power over the shamefulness of our sins in our lives, which he will continually bring up before us until we surrender all to Jesus, our Lord.

PERSONAL COMMENT:

As we give all of ourselves in our absolute surrender to God, let us not forget that we are in a spiritual war with the darkness of this world and we cannot stand firm unless we put on the "full armor of God". Praise God that He gives us the power to fight our battle with us as we put on the "full armor of God!"

Ephesians 6:11-13... Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.