Hot and Bothered

Do you ever get irritable? I mean, grumpy beyond the point of all reason? I mean, so that nothing can unfurl your eyebrows or soften the growl that's coming from your throat?

That's been my week. Hot and bothered.

Yuck.

But, do you know what I discovered? All of myself was filling all of my thoughts. What I wanted (or didn't want), what I expected (or didn't expect), what I needed (or didn't need)....Me, me, me. Like a selfish toddler, I only had eyes for me. And who's winning when my eyes are on myself? Not me, because I can't be satisfied...not my family, because they, though they try, just can't seem to measure up when I can't be satisfied...and most certainly not the Lord, Who deserves to have all of my attention, and my focus and my devotion. Nope....it is the adversary who is winning when my eyes are fully on myself. * After all, then the Lord is not receiving the glory that He's due.

The Bible tells me to resist the devil and he will flee. "Resist" is not a very passive word, is it? Nor is it inwardly focused. To resist is active and steadfast. To resist requires perseverance. To resist requires the strength (the wisdom, the stamina, the armor) that only the Lord can provide.

And so, here I sit, putting on my garment of praise to dispel that ugly spirit of heaviness. Who needs to be hot and bothered when they have the hope of a bright future? Who needs to be grumpy when they are empowered to fight for the advancement of God's glorious Kingdom? Who needs to be irritable when all of his/her needs are met in the Person of Jesus Christ?

Not me.

Praise the Lord.

I need to go find my shield.

(* Disclaimer: The adversary never will win. He's a loser.)