God NEVER tempts, we are always drawn away by our own lusts. I believe Brother James couldn’t have said it better.
I got born again years back and since then, it is safe to say I have fought one major temptation, battled one major leaven.
And it is the leaven of obeying God when it comes to intimate relationships. You see, once having a low self esteem has no perks at all. You become that person who just doesn’t feel she’s enough and so just anybody seems great enough. You become entangled again and again, things get messy, you leave, be alone and then become entangled again.
Story of My life!
It’s crazy, however. Sin always begins from temptation and temptation always stems out from that little leaven we harbour, trusting that we can and we would handle it.
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump
1corinthians 5:6
Leaven literally suggests a rising agent in baking . And trust me, I should know, just a small measure of yeast in comparison to the measure of flour always does the magic. Most times, we sit there feeling like, mehn, it’s just a tiny tea spoon of yeast (leaven) , the Flour is (I am) enough to cover it but of course, the word of God never lies. We get overthrown by the leaven. The whole lump literally gets leavened up. We become drowned again in desires that please our flesh, we put on again the weight that easily besets us.
For me, it has always started with “Let me just keep him around. After all, friendships don’t hurt.” And from there, it becomes “a little talk at night don’t hurt” and then “a little going out don’t hurt” and of course, finally, I end up falling head over heels for him, him that doesn’t help me in any way spiritual.
And when my eyes are finally clear, he becomes almost like a too strong stronghold to uproot. I’m glued, totally to the ‘wrongest’ of people for me at that time.
All this because I thought I could handle a little leaven. I thought I could cope without getting leavened up. Take this advice from someone quite experienced in this area, you cannot cope! Except you are genuinely on a divine mission to change the person’s life, you too will get leavened up!
And you know the crazy thing? We always know the difference right from the start between the leaven and the unleavened Flour. We know. Common people! Yeast is brown. Flour is white. We know. But we always try to tell ourselves it’s just a little, it’ll eventually change. I’ll pray about it.
Aunty kabash. Uncle Vigil.
Can you take a moment right now to access your life and recall all the times you’ve accommodated a leaven in your life? Be truthful, it didn’t turn out well, did it? And it’s not even just about relationships. Those times when you took up an immoral habit, it started SLOWLY.
Like:
“Uhm, this movie has some sexual scenes in it and even though God just delivered me from Pornography, I think I can handle it, It’s not as though it’s the entire movie.”
And before you know, you’re battling thoughts of going incognito on your browser.
Or
“I could make a few extra cash if I just tell this lie, it’s just a tiny lie and it’s just once.”
Before you know, it’s become your thing, it flows out more naturally than the truth.
Think of whatever other habit. It all starts small. The devil can’t make us fall at once, he knows it won’t work. So he tries to use the tiny things we feel are not as important. Of course as we accept them, slowly we begin to think the ‘big’ ones aren’t so big and before we know it, we’re in a mess and we don’t understand what happened or how it happened .
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade
Slow Fade, Casting Crowns.
See, Guys, I’m not trying to come all up in your face like I’m done with this season in my life. Almost everything I write here is based on a season I’m in and I’m struggling with. This has been laid in my heart for a while now and I actually looked back through my life and realised that many ‘sins’ I’ve struggled with always started so little. Like really really small.
So I’m trying now to say no to the little leavens the devil sends my way. Not like I’m all works and all that. I’m actually learning to be more spirit led. So that when he says “This is a leaven, let him/her/it go,” I won’t think twice. I’ll just do.
I encourage you to do so too. Let’s start warding off those Satan – sent leavens. Those lusts. Those fleshly things. And let’s focus on the unleavened Bread of Sincerity and truth Apostle Paul wrote about.
God loves us all crazily.
Yes, He does, and that’s the reason His message ‘Refocus’ would be out through a spoken word rendition done by me on the 9th April.
It’ll be uploaded on sound cloud and of course, I’ll put up the link here.
I love y’all muchos.
MercyMax!!!
Voice It! 