On any trip we undertake, no
matter how exciting or exotic, there comes a time when we begin to long for
home. I faced this while in Switzerland, of all places!
However arriving back home can't be simply done by
thought, like in the old sit-com "Bewitched", nor can we say: "Forget about
paying for this hotel room! Forget about returning this rental car! I'm taking
the first plane home!" It just doesn't work that way! There is a process we need
to go through.
Besides paying what is due (which will most certainly
help to avoid unnecessary delays at the airport!), we need to return our rental
car and we must register our luggage. Please note that if you skip this
particular step, your luggage will not follow you home, and may even be blown up
for security reasons. (They actually do this at Charles De Gaulle Airport in
Paris!)
Next we need to verify that we are heading for the
right gate, otherwise we will hear it from the security guards. Our carry-ons as
well as our whole persona and our passports will be checked, rechecked and
tripled checked, and if we are the lucky one, we will also be frisked. You never
know that some of us may have changed personalities or that we may have somehow
picked up the wrong carry-on!
Only when our tickets are stamped and our passports
are rechecked for the umpteenth time can we finally board the plane. After
take-off we are heading
home. Unless, naturally, we have someone on board who has gotten up on the wrong
side of bed and threatens us to kingdom come! But then, if it actually happen,
we will be heading to our real home in heaven anyway!
Deliverance from a nasty addiction is a process as
well. For some faster than others.
"Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump
to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in
the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining
process, with glory just around the corner." (1 Peter 4:12-13 The
Message)
However the process is much more delightful than
security measures at the airport! We have the presence of our Maker who makes
sure we are not alone in this!
Interestingly enough, just like salvation, deliverance
cannot be obtained through our own doing! It's not a question of what we do or
what we don't do, but a decision to trust the One who makes sure we are not
alone in this process!
"Did you go through this whole painful
learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it
certainly will be if you keep this up! Answer this question: Does the
God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit,
working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these
things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him
to do them in you?" (Gal 3:4-6 The Message)
As long as we keep in mind that there is one out there
who is out to destroy us
through his lies (See John 8:44) and trust the One who promises victory, we will
stay on trek to victory.
"Welcome aboard flight Victory. The pilot has invited
you to fly with him in the cockpit. He wants to make sure you have the flight of
your life!"
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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