TMI

 "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one." John 17:15

    Scarlett O'Hara escaped the burning of Atlanta with a wagonful of weary loads. With the cadence of each step, she yearned to reach her childhood home and lay the burdens down at her parents' feet. Upon her arrival, however, she found more troubles awaiting her and, as the list of grievances were being piled onto her young shoulders, she wondered how much more the enemy could request of her until finally she barked, "I don't want to hear any more about what 'they' did!"

    Oft times, I feel exactly like this. Try as I may to soldier on in a vanishing America, each newscast or podcast telling me of what "they" are doing to dismantle the world I knew suffocates me as much as these horrid masks!  The words of Isaiah pour from my heart like a torrential rain as I look to the heavens and implore of God: "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you...Come down to make your Name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!" (Isaiah 64: 1,2)

    I don't know what has increased more: technology or corruption? Perhaps it's both, but I struggle to find a balance between sticking my ostrich head in the sand and pretending nothing is happening, or keeping abreast of what's coming my way so I can meet it in the street. Honestly, I find it to be TMI (Too Much Information). This must be how Adam and Eve felt when they sampled the fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We were never meant to deal with this level of deception, corruption and hatred. I want to slam down the lid of this Pandora's box of evil in an attempt to keep the slithering snakes inside, but I cannot.

    Who has the power to do this? Who already came down from the heavens and made His name known to the nations? None other than our hero, Jesus Christ! Like a bushman with a machete, He has gone before us, hacking the way through the tangled briars that threaten to choke, kill and destroy. We may get some scratches or bug bites on our journey or even spend some time in the swamp, but He intercedes on our behalf, praying to the Father for our protection. When we tire beneath the weary load, He leads us beside the still waters and restores our souls. 

    "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11: 28-30