Separated

Have you ever had that feeling.. you know.. where you've done the unthinkable sin or the most common sin.. and you just feel as though, you just can't take it to God because you are not good enough for him now? Yeah, that feeling. I've had it way too many time than I'd like to admit. While I was reading my Bible this morning, these verses jumped out at me.. 

1 Peter 4:7, "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." 
1 Peter 5: 8-11, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Rest in him standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Wait, how did God know that hundreds, thousands of year later, I would need to hear that? Even the minor sins, in our eyes, can be a hindrance to us in our walk with God. I really feel that those two verses go together. Peter is telling us to be clear minded and self-controlled so we can pray. Why is that so important? I almost missed it while reading. If we aren't clear minded and self-controlled, we sin. I know that when I'm not thinking right or my judgment is clouded, I tend to sin and then reason it out later. Then I feel guilty and feel as though I can't go to God because, well, "Here she is again" kind of feeling. (Which is so untrue by the way. God doesn't feel that way about us when we sin.) So in staying clear minded and self-controlled, we won't feel as though we can't pray to God. On the same note, he reminds us that the devil is prowling around us, waiting to pounce! What a great example and a great word! Prowl. Here this poor prey is just going on with their own regular day.. eating, playing, sleeping, etc. and what happened.. that dang lion prowls around the unsuspecting prey, just waiting for his opportunity to ruin it's day! Good grief lion! 

Now, I've found a constant pattern in the Bible.. God doesn't just warn us and say.. "Ok, now have at it and be careful! Glad I'm not you in this world!" No, God always will offer a way out and/or a promise of his provision. In the last passage he tells us that through all your trials, all your sufferings, He himself will restore you! Not just restore you to where you were before the sins and trials and sufferings, but he'll restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. Because once you've conquered that sin with God's help by telling Satan that he has NO power over you, it gets easier to resist him, with God's help of course.

So be encouraged and be on the lookout for Satan! Let his prowl around you, but give him no reason to pounce! He is so tricky and wants nothing more than to separate you from God. That is his one and only main mission.. to separate you from God as deep and as far as he possibly can. Don't let him make you feel like you are worthless and nothing and that God sees you as an annoyance! You aren't annoying God by coming to him for big or small sins! You aren't a failure or a disappointment to God. Don't let Satan make you think that you are! You are God's child. He will wrap his arms around you. The greatest thing is that He understands. What an amazing God! He gives us ways out of temptation, he promises greater rewards when following him, he give us salvation, he gives us hope. Thank you Lord!