[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Thursday, August 14, 2014

[Paul]

Hello and good day to you all.  I hope that, by God's matchless grace and His providential care, that you are all doing well on this Thursday as this is being written or, for those of you in Australia and New Zealand, a hopefully pleasant Friday morning.

Cheryl Barker from the midwestern state of Missouri graces our screens, Braille displays and screen readers today with her article entitled "Living To Tell About It," rendered as follows:

Some folks hit the lake on a three-day weekend, but our family heads for the Hills--the hills of Missouri to be exact.  They've become our regular destination since my parents moved there over 20 years ago.  While others are boating and waterskiing, we get back to nature by trekking through the Ozark Mountains.

One year we ended up with a little too much of the great outdoors.  What started as a fun family outing down a nature trail near Mom and Dad's house soon spiraled out of control into a wilderness family fiasco.  Dad had inspected the trail in the weeks prior and found it to be in good shape.  Unfortunately, that was no longer true.

The first clue should have been the fallen tree blocking the path just past the trailhead.  Someone even said, "This doesn't look too good." But determined to have our own holiday adventure, we forged ahead.  After playing limbo with the tree trunk while avoiding other maverick undergrowth, we fell into single file as we snaked along, attempting to follow in Dad's footsteps.

The unrelenting rains of the preceding weeks contributed not only to the runaway growth of the woodland floor but also to the tricky path we found underfoot.  Suddenly, our little jaunt into the woods morphed into a task fraught with unexpected perils.

We concentrated on every step, so as not to twist our ankles.  Talks of ticks and poison ivy soon surfaced, even though most of us had made sure to use insect repellent before starting the hike.  When Dad began calling out poison ivy alerts, my sister Janice said, "I'm outa here," and then darted back the way we had come.

Seconds later, someone trumpeted the first tick announcement.  Everyone tried to avoid them but to no avail.  One by one, we called out in disgust with our own discoveries of the dreaded enemies.  Complaints began to flow freely.  I hate to admit it, but more than once I grumbled, "This is the most stupid thing we've ever done."

Deep into the trail by this time, our daughter Kristin began feeling the onslaught of another enemy--out-of-control allergies.  Growing more stuffed up by the minute and already creeped out by the ticks, she and her husband hightailed it out next.

Moments later, my sister Carolyn and I decided it was utter madness to stay in tick territory any longer than absolutely necessary.  Propelled by our desire to escape, we turned back and caught up with Kristin and Shawn in no time.  The others continued, but a short while later they ended up retracing their steps when they encountered water.  Some might say nature kicked our tails that day, but I'd rather say, "We lived to tell about it."

Traversing the trails of our spiritual lives is not so different from our infamous tick hike, as our family later affectionately dubbed it.  The enemy of our souls keeps our paths strewn with traps to avoid and goes to battle.  The Word of God warns us about it.  "Discipline yourselves; keep alert.  Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering" (1 Peter 5:8-9a).

Along with arming ourselves with insect repellent, we can arm ourselves with the Word of God and prayer.  We can train our eyes to detect the poisons that threaten to do us harm.  We can pull off the enemies that try to attach themselves to our minds and souls.  And sometimes we may even need to hightail it out of certain situations.

Just as our family ignored the warning sign of the fallen tree near the trailhead, many times we fail to heed the cautionary flags the Lord places along our paths.  God wants us to avoid the traps of immorality and deceit.  God wants us to recognize and root out the destructive forces of bitterness and pride.  Like any good parent, God longs to spare us from the heartache of falling prey to these and other sins.

I'm so glad God hasn't left us defenseless against the evil one.  In Ephesians 6:10-18, we're told how we can put the armor of God on each day as we take our stand against the devil's schemes.  Let's put on the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, and the breastplate of righteousness.  Let's fit our feet with readiness and take up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit--the Word of God.  Let's pray and be alert.  And keep on praying.

And there you have Cheryl's article which I trust was a blessing for you today.

Until tomorrow when, Lord willing another Daily Thought message and article will be presented, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul