It was surreal; one of my worst fears realized. The back door stood ajar … someone had been in my house. Fear washed over me. Was anyone still inside my house? What had been taken? How do I explain this to my children? How will I ever feel safe inside my own house again? … The thieves had stolen more than material possessions; they had stolen my sense of security. They had violated my space. While fear had initially made my blood run cold, the fire of anger soon became a raging inferno. Some stranger had come in and stolen from me and my children.
As I wrote a list of items stolen from my home, it came to me that the thieves had stolen far more valuable possessions than the material items taken. They had robbed me of my peace, my sanctuary had been violated, and my security was shaken. It occurred to me that we are all victims of a robbery every day without realizing we are letting a thief into our lives.
Satan desires nothing more than to steal our peace, destroy our relationships, and make us question God. He will do anything to keep us from turning our lives over to Jesus. The tragedy is that we don't even realize we are being robbed. Some of us will never know how much was taken from us until this life is over. When we stand before God, we will be able to see what Satan has taken from us. Satan is the father of lies. He can have our minds and hearts so twisted that we cannot see any truth; causing damage spiritually and destroys lives. Only Jesus can intervene; He is our security. While we might have to fight the devil in this life, we are not alone if we are a Child of God. We have the full armor of God with which to fight. The robberies must stop; we must stand and fight the evil one with Jesus.
I began writing down a list of all that Satan had stolen from me over the years while I stood by and let it happen: my peace; relationships; disbelief; mistrust; missed opportunities to witness; creating fear in my heart; binding my heart in chains more than once; and on … and on … and on.
I refuse to let Satan steal anything else from me. My God is bigger than any thief or possession in this world and the only security I need. No longer will I submit to fear, but be filled by the perfect love of God that can never be stolen.
What about you? What has that traitorous, lying, thieving devil stolen from you?