When the unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest, but doesn’t find any. Then it says, I’ll go back to my house that I came from. And returning, it finds the house vacant, swept and put in order. Then off it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation. Matthew 12:43-45 HCSB
Often times someone will demonstrate some type of technique that can be dangerous and they will tell you not to try this at home, but to enlist the help of a trained professional. Well making positive changes in our lives requires this as well.
Our scripture passage for today talks about trying to change ourselves on our own. You see as human beings we can make positive changes in our lives, but to have true, lasting change we need God. Only God can strengthen us against the devil. Only God can rid us of emotions that may be dragging us down. I have told you before that I had such anger and bitterness in my heart against someone and prayed several times a day for God to remove it and He did. I think I would still be angry and bitter today without God’s help. God has also helped me remove other things from my life.
When I first committed my life to Christ in 2010 I was what I would consider a social drinker. I enjoyed a drink occasionally with dinner. If I went out with friends I may have one or two drinks. I became convicted about this. I had a little tug of war going on. The little angel on my shoulder was telling me not to drink. It was telling me things like it would destroy my witness. But the devil on the other shoulder was quoting scripture and telling me that Ephesians 5:18 doesn’t say that we shouldn’t drink only that we should not get drunk and I was not getting drunk so I was good to go. But all of a sudden, I noticed a pattern with my migraines. When I would drink, even one drink, I would get a horrific migraine. That was a no brainer. I quit drinking.
About a month ago I was convicted that I needed to lose weight and get healthy. I went back on Weight Watchers and did very well for two weeks, then Easter came along with lots of chocolate. My biggest weakness is chocolate, or I should say used to be chocolate. You guessed it, I have now come to realize that all of a sudden chocolate now gives me migraines. I figure God decided that He would help me to get healthy. Now I really liked chocolate, but I really like not having a migraine more. Yesterday as I walked through the grocery store, I looked at the chocolate and almost picked up a pack of chocolate candy before realizing that I couldn’t have it. I’m not sad about this, I think it’s a good thing. You see now I am not at all tempted to eat chocolate. I’ve never eaten any food that is worth a migraine. So God solved this problem for me. When I couldn’t withstand temptation, God made it easy.
Now you may have read that scripture passage and thought that it was a bit extreme thinking you don’t have any demons or unclean spirits. Well, we all have demons at some point in our lives. Perhaps it’s the demon of overspending. Perhaps it’s the demon of overeating. Perhaps it’s the demon of a potty mouth or lying. We all struggle with something at some time. You don’t have to fight this demon on your own. God is right there ready, willing and certainly able to help you with whatever you are facing. When God cleans your house, you can rest assured that it is clean. When He removes any demon from your life, He will also help you to stand strong against it and any others that try to attack.
If you don’t know the first thing about carpentry, would you attempt to build your own house all by yourself? If you are in no way mechanically inclined would you attempt to rebuild the motor of your car by yourself? I hope not. I also hope that when you try to make positive changes in your life that you trust this to God. I pray that you rely on His strength to pull you through (Philippians 4:13). I pray that you will turn to Him and allow Him to help you rid your life of anything negative. I also pray that you will continue to rely on His strength to help you to stand strong against the devil. We know that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life more abundantly (John 10:10). That makes it a no brainer doesn’t it? He wants to help you with whatever demons you are facing, turn to Him today.
Have a great day!