030420202 – Matthew 4. 1-11
DEMONS, we’ve ALL GOT them!
We all have DARK secrets, DESIRES or something we LUST after, our WORST fears, our BROKEN hopes…our diminished PROMISES…our countless misgivings…
These “things” SLOWLY but surely CHOKE and HARM our good QUALITIES, HOPES, our DREAMS and ASPIRATIONS if left unchecked…or if we ALLOW THEM to SHAPE and FORM US!
These “THINGS,” these “FEELINGS” are PERSONIFIED as “DEMONS” because they are “NO LESS than demons.”
They are RIGHT at the doorsteps of our SOULS waiting, always WAITING and WATCHING for us to SLIP, always aware, always vigilant of OUR MISTAKES, our FAILURES and our every MIS-DOING.
They keep on WAITING and WATCHING NEVER-ever giving up. We DO NEED to be aware of “Satan, the Great Deceiver, the DIVISIVE and Evil One” all the while realizing that we all also have our own “PERSONAL small DEMONS” waiting to make our lives a living hell…
Give them an INCH…and YOU KNOW the rest…
It means that EVEN people who give “every appearance” of being CALM, WELL-ORGANIZED and RATIONAL have “concealed aspects” of their personalities that CAUSE them ANGUISH, GUILT and SELF-DOUBT. Some people’s demons are READILY VISIBLE, while others are EXTREMELY well-CONCEALED and HIDDEN.
But trust me THEY EXIST…we ALL have them.
Do you GET-IN your OWN WAY or, worse yet, constantly and continuously shoot yourself in the foot? You are not alone! A lot of us do that!
DO you PROCRASTINATE way-too-often, EAT WAY too much, RUN from your EMOTIONS and PROBLEMS, DRINK way too much – way too frequently, feel like a FRAUD, and PERPETUATE your cycle of SELF-RUIN…these are but a handful of the DEMONS that surround us and there are so many, many more…
We all have THOSE things we WANT in our lives—to LOSE those PESKY 10-20-30 pounds (OR MORE), achieve THAT PROMOTION, or FINALLY get to take that ONE FANTASY vacation.
We set a GOAL that is NEAR and DEAR to our HEARTS, and repeat it to ourselves in our heads and maybe even aloud to others more times than we can count…and then WHAT DO WE DO?
We SABOTAGE ourselves…we ALWAYS sabotage ourselves…it is WHAT we do…it is what we do BEST.
THEN…we look the fool.
“There’s that SHINY, SELF-CONFIDENT EXTERIOR that SOME PEOPLE show to the world, this IS NOT what it seems to be.
At the end of the day, when they are ALONE with their THOUGHTS, what do (Their THOUGHTS) say to them?”
More than 100 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS at the top of their game were asked that question.
“I’m rarely AT PEACE with myself,” some people will honestly ADMIT.
I hate MYSELF. I hate MY LIFE.
I DESPISE where I am at! I hate my job! I hate what I do. The money means nothing. Power, prestige???
“I’m SELF-DESTRUCTIVE, and (always have been) I don’t KNOW why.”
“I DON’T love MYSELF very much.”
“I’m feeling very SAD and very LONELY” …and NO ONE really cares.
Beneath that “SHINY EXTERIOR” of some people …lies a much darker AURORA… With some Demons, there is NO appeasing THEM. Nothing short of OUR DOWNFALL makes them happy!
Jesus had his demons, TOO. He faced them HEAD ON. Some days we can DO THAT, some days we are TOO TIRED and WAY-TO-WEARY to even attempt it.
THERAPY helps, PRAYER helps, FRIENDS help…GOD helps, but it really boils down to YOU – YOU and YOUR DEMONS.
Do YOU really want to be CONTROLLED by them? Or do you want to CONTROL your OWN destiny? What CHANGES are necessary? What changes ARE YOU WILLING to MAKE?
The ONUS is on us. The ONUS is ALWAYS on us. This is OUR life. God desires US to live an ABUNDANT, HAPPY, FULFILLED life.
For us, it is a matter of TAKING BACK OUR LIFE. And LIVING the most AUTHENTICATE life we possibly can.
Amen.