Flood of Problmes

                It has always been instinctual for me to ignore and hide problems that I am unable to handle on my own; however, this approach often leads to bigger problems that are harder to handle. One morning when I was young, I woke up before anyone else in the house and decided to take a shower. I had not realized at the time that the pipes were frozen after the low morning temperatures and soon ran out of water completely. I turned the knobs on the shower all the way to one side and then all the way to the other and still no water came out. I did not know whether or not the water was now turned on or off, but I did not want to bother anyone else by asking, so I left the tub and decided I would return to the problem later. The morning when on as usual until, sometime nearer to the afternoon, my mom reported a strange noise coming from the part of the house that held my bathroom. When we investigated the noise, we found that the bathtub had filled with water and overflowed into the bathroom and most of my bedroom. The rest of that day was spent taking up the carpet in my bedroom and salvaging what we could from the flood.

                Sadly I think we as Christ followers often take a similar approach when it comes to the spiritual realm. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” Despite this knowledge, we still choose to see only the physical issues in our daily lives. I was once told that when things are going well and life seems easy, that is the time to be on guard as a follower of Christ because when we are furthering the Kingdom of God, the enemy will do everything in his power to try to discourage us, but when we are being ineffective in the work of God, the enemy tries to make things as comfortable as possible so that we do not change.          

                Have I become lulled into an easy life which does not promote the Kingdom of God? When I am faced with obstacles, do I allow them to discourage me from following Christ or am I encouraged by the thought that I may be making a difference? Do I take the time to see past the physical issue to the deeper spiritual problem or do I ignore the spiritual realm until it becomes a flood that spills over into my life? How can I change my attitude in order to be aware of the work that God is doing around me?

                Lord, please show me the work that You are doing in the people and town around me. Help me to be an effective warrior for Your kingdom and not to settle for an easy life. Please help me to see beyond the physical aspects of my daily life to the spiritual work going on around me. Amen.