A Season of Hope – Preparing Our Hearts for Easter
Ephesians 6: 10-12
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
We are all familiar with the game, “Tug of War,” a test of strength that pits two teams against one another, each at opposite ends of a long, sturdy rope. The goal is for one of the teams to pull so hard in their direction that the other team is forced across a line drawn at the halfway point.
As I was putting together my thoughts for writing this devotion, a vivid memory came to me of when I was a very troubled, lost young woman. One evening, I was alone in our kitchen and I had an overwhelming sense that there was a conflict—a tug of war— going on over my head, and it was between the devil on one end of the rope and the Lord on the other. I didn’t understand it at the time but came to realize it was a battle for my soul that was taking place in the “heavenly realms.” Thank God, Jesus won that tug of war, and my soul was secured when I gave my heart to Him a few days later.
Last year marked 50 years since Jesus won the victory in that tug-of-war for my soul. Just as I could sense the tug of war over my soul, you and I may sometimes have a sense that there is a battle going on in our spirit whenever we are tempted to take sides with the devil. Each day we have a choice to make, for which side of the rope we latch onto. Make no mistake, there is a serious war going on every single day for our heart, soul, mind, and body.
We are reminded in Romans 3:23 that even those of us who are Christ followers have the tendency towards sin, and our hearts are deceitful. Therefore, we can easily wind up on the evil one’s end of the rope. But, the good news is with this tug of war, no matter how far we have been pulled by the devil’s rope, it is not so far, nor is it too late, to be pulled back by the Lord if we call out for help and repent. All we need to do is to make a heart decision to confess our sin and repent, which means that we turn from the way we are going, and set a new course for our lives, one that pleases God. If we expect God to listen to the burdens of our hearts through prayer, we must be in the right position with Him to be heard. The following is a list—but certainly not an exhaustive one—of areas in which God may be convicting you, even now, followed by a prayer of confession and repentance.
Lord, You have promised that when I come to You with a sincere heart, out of great need, You will not cast me out. Open the eyes of my heart, Holy Spirit, to be convicted of any sin that grieves You. Help me to see behaviors and attitudes that need to be changed, so that I would have a heart of repentance. I confess to You now that
• I have lost my First Love—Jesus Christ—and no longer put Him first in my life; forgive me, Lord.
• I have neglected daily devotion to Bible reading and prayer by allowing busyness or lack of having a committed time each day to spend time with You; forgive me, Lord.
• I have lacked belief or expectation that You will answer my prayers, because You have disappointed me in the past with “no” answers; forgive me, Lord.
• I have ignored promptings from You that I have heard but have chosen to ignore; forgive me, Lord.
• I have made decisions and plans without consulting You and then blamed You when they went horribly wrong: forgive me, Lord.
• I have at times said that I trust You, Lord, but have still gone my own way; forgive me, Lord.
• I have on occasion been greedy for immediate pleasure rather than being content to delay gratification; a time when self-discipline was required to receive a better blessing; forgive me, Lord.
• I have neglected to share the Gospel and no longer care for the spiritual well-being of others, especially those who are lost and don’t have faith in Jesus; forgive me, Lord.
This is just the beginning, Lord, for my sins are many. Reveal to me the ones that are ugly that I hesitate to even say out loud: pride, a critical spirit, slander, lying, cheating, robbing God, fear, theft, murder in my heart, gossip, adultery, pornography, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, abuse towards my spouse or children, not honoring my parents, coveting that which is not mine to have, gluttony, financial irresponsibility. Forgive me, Lord, I beg. Every day when I come to You, You promise to make me new, Lord God, to cleanse me from all unrighteousness, for Your name’s sake. Create in me a clean heart. Thank you, Lord, for Your amazing grace. I pray in Your Holy name, Amen.
~ painting via intaglio-fine-art.com
