Lulled Into Danger

Lulled into Danger– January 8, 2020



My heart is heavy this morning. I have been constantly bringing my children before the Lord. I am burdened for one child who is struggling with a particular sin that seems to have grabbed him and will not let go. I am broken for this child who is floundering and seems lost.

As I draw closer to God the more the things of this world seem to lose their appeal to me. I discover more and more things that I need to remove from my own life that have creeped in slowly over time because I was not on my guard. Things that may seem good but are harmful because they take my focus off God. I see this in the eyes of my children.

I know that I cannot make my children follow after Christ but what example have I set for them? I want to see my children fervently follow after Christ. I want them to be spending more time with Christ than on their devices or watching TV. I asked a child last night if he could find his Bible and he did not have an answer for me. Oh, my heart broke. To know that this child has not read the Word of God in, who knows how long, brought tears to my eyes.

The Lord brought to my eyes the faults and failures in my own life with regards to following after Him fervently. Before I can call my children to a walk with Christ I need to show them what that looks like. What do I spend my time on? Where is my heart at? What are the things that take my eyes off Christ?

We have become so desensitized to things that do not honor God. They enter our house subtly and by the time we realize their dangers, we have become entrenched into our patterns and daily life. Sometimes these are good things that Satan uses to steal our time and our hearts. We start to make compromises and spend our time in pursuits that do not bring God glory.

Here is the amazing thing. We can take these very things that Satan has used to steal our time and hearts and turn them into things that Glorify God and bring honor to his name.

We live in a world where technology abounds and something new comes out every year. Do we believe that God can use these things for his glory? I have been purposing in my heart recently to declutter the ways I use technology. I have cleaned out my emails and started to unsubscribe from the seemingly hundreds of emails I get in a week. It is nice to open up my email and see only those things that I have chosen are important.

I also cleaned out a bunch of games and apps that were taking my time and replaced them with things that honor God. Bible apps and podcasts from people that speak truth into my life. There are so many things that we can use today to promote a closer walk with Christ. It is a choosing to clean house a little bit and focus on what God calls to. To love the things that he loves.

We are spoiled in this great country we live in. We turn on our faucets and get clean water that we don’t have to worry about if it is safe to drink. We turn on our lights by the flip of switch. We have access to unlimited ways to get the Word of God in front of us. We have churches on every corner it seems. I have remined lately of so many people in the world do not have access to these things.

I think of my sister and her husband who are trying to open one of the first evangelical churches in the town they live in overseas. I think of the countless Christians who face death every day for proclaiming the name of Christ. Just for saying his name. My mind wonders about how billions of people in the world wake up with no hope because they have never even heard the name of Christ. Who die with no hope.

When I was directing the Christmas production at STP, A Weaving of Grace, I was astonished at how many people have never heard of Corrie ten Boom. It struck me recently that there are so many more people who have never heard of Christ. Oh, my heart breaks and is burdened for those people. We have become so spoiled in our own bubbles and desensitized to the fact that there are people in our own neighborhoods and all over the world who will die without ever hearing the name of Christ. It spurs me to do more for the glory of Christ. And that starts in my own home with those who live under my roof.

Yes, my heart is broken over past mistakes and failures. Yes, I grieve over the example I have set for my children. Yes, I am burdened to see a change of heart in my children. But I also rejoice. I rejoice that I serve a God who never gives up on me. A God who continually draws me back to Him. A God who loves my children more than I could ever imagine. A God who loves me and my children unconditionally and gives us grace and mercy and forgiveness.

The devotional I read this morning in Praying Through the Bible for Your Kids was entitled Hidden Dangers. It was about Lot and his family. A family who had allowed themselves to be so spoiled by the pleasure of the world that they became desensitized to the sins that were right in front of them.

I read “Though Lot and his wife and daughters had been seduced by the allures of Sodom and lulled into ignoring the danger, and though they were far too slow in turning away from the evil of the city, the Lord was gracious. In mercy, he saved those who had closed their eyes to danger as they made themselves home in the world.”

Oh, may I never feel at home in this world. The cry of my heart is to seek after holy things. For my children to seek after holy things.

I love how after the evening discussion last night and the cry of heart this morning that I opened to this devotional for today. These thoughts were already on my mind last night. God is so good that he gives us exactly the words we need to hear exactly when we need to hear them.

The prayer this morning in my devotional again was so good.

“Lord, give us eyes to see the hidden danger in what may look good on the surface as our children move out of our home and into the world. Give my children discernment beyond their years to wisely assess opportunities that are presented to them. Even as they seek to be salt and light in the world, keep them from losing their saltiness and being pressed into the world’s mold. Don’t let them become desensitized to sin and evil. And as you write our family’s story, would you make it a story of your mercy? May your mercy overcome our compromise and outweigh the influence of our surroundings.”

Amen and Amen.

This song that has been on repeat for me this week has become my prayer for me and my children.