We have a mouse....in our HOUSE.
My nice, clean, well-vaccuumed house. Have I ever mentioned how much I love to vaccuum? I LOVE to vaccuum. It's instant gratification to see the lovely smooth lines on the carpet. Anyway...
My precious husband casually strolled into our den last night at 11:15 and said, "Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you that last night when I was watching TV I saw a mouse. It's just a little field mouse - really cute."
After establishing that the mouse was INSIDE, IN our den, and that 'cute' should be reserved only for pet mice that come from the pet store and not from the horse field behind our house, I began to realize how my Mom must have felt when my pet hamster, Fuzzy Wuzzy, got loose in our house when I was in elementary school.
(First of all, don't knock the choice of name. I was not very creative in those days and Fuzzy Wuzzy - and subsequently Fuzzy Wuzzy the Second - were the best I could come up with.)
One night, my Mom went to feed the hamster. Except THE HAMSTER WASN'T IN THE CAGE. Not being particularly fond of the creature, she very quickly rounded up my Dad to find him.
Not finding him was NOT an option.
They scoured every room in the house...and little Fuzzy Wuzzy was nowhere to be found. So in a plea of desperation, my Mom raised her hands to the ceiling and said, "Lord, you know that I CANNOT sleep in this house knowing a rodent is ON THE LOOSE. PLEASE let us find him!!"
She opened her eyes, and there was little Fuzzy Wuzzy. Sitting in the middle of the hallway just as happy as could be.
So today's devotion is this...
After knowing that there was an intruder in the house, I carefully stopped at each doorway to scan the room before entering, being very alert to any noises or movement. I wanted to be sure that I was aware of what was in the room and that I wouldn't be surprised by anything when I went in.
Isn't that how we're supposed to live spiritually?
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8
We need to be alert. Because just like the little mouse slipped into our house through a tiny crack in the fireplace, Satan is looking for the opportunity to slip into our lives through a tiny crack in our faith. Sometimes we don't even know he's there until someone else tells us what they've seen in our life.
But the good news is, just like my Mom prayed for her eyes to be opened, we too can pray for God to open our eyes and show us where we've allowed evil to get a foothold. For "the Lord confides in those who fear him" Psalm 25:14.
So today, let the prayer of your heart be these verses in Psalms:
Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me."
Psalm 25:4-6 "Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old."
