We'll Leave the Lights on for You

Why, in the middle of an intense struggle with the devil this morning, over why I should or shouldn't go to a 6:30 AM Bible Study, did this popular slogan creep into my already crowded mind I am not sure. Maybe it is because the powers that be know that brief advertising slogans have a powerful and lasting effect on us.  Remember these:

Where's the beef?
You deserve a break today!
Fly the friendly skies with ........!
You're in good hands with ......!
It's finger licking good!

Or it could have been because I am acutely aware, as you probably are, that the devil is the author of much confusion and the one who loves to keep us in the darkness. The more we seek to do good, the more he chases after us. I became more aware of this when I read the book The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Chances are that if we are not being tempted by him, we are already in heaven or complacent in our faith.

So if you, like me become conflicted from time to time, the answer to clarity is that God will always Leave The Lights On For You. There are no hours of darkness in his hotel, always light and answers for the right thing to do. We may not always choose it, but it is without a doubt always a place to rest our complicated thoughts. But there is a key, and I believe it is in these verses:

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast"   1 Peter 5:6-10

Here is our problem, we think because we are having these thoughts we are doing something wrong, and it may actually be because we are trying to do something right. And, we quit too easily and give in, mostly because we try to do it ourselves (pride) and forget that God may not give us a quick fix, but instead may let our faith pull us through. He puts it in our hands to fly in friendly or unfriendly skies, to seek the darkness, or go where the lights are always on. 

Actually we do deserve a break today! When we are in this situation, when we make the right choice, God actually finds a way to let us know how much he appreciates obedience.

How do I know? Read those last 17 words in Peter again. I'm feeling it!