Power of Sin Vs. Power of Christ - 2

This was not supposed to be a series, but I met a friend the other morning. I hadn't seen him for quite some time. He told me he had gotten separated from his wife. Evidently, an area that had once been a weakness had reared its ugly head and he fell. Somehow, his wife learned about it and she asked him to leave. And he did.

He quit his job. (He was a counselor. "How can I, in good faith, help other people with their problems, when I have a problem like this?") He is getting counseling himself.

He is leading a semi-homeless existence. (The agency he worked for actually gave him a leave of absence, and were letting him "camp" in the waiting room, until he gets a place ▬ and evidently he had one lined up. And he had a different job. So, it is not total despair. Now, if we could have a re-unification of this family.)

But it does get me to thinking. How close is anyone to falling? How close are we to making bad decisions and ruining our lives?  Too close for too many of us.

God created us. Before that, he designed us. He engineered us. And he designed our environment, our connection to him and the resources available to us. He designed the end he wants us to have.

And it's not ignominy, defeat, misery, suffering or shame. There is one who does want all these things for us. And he works hard to bring them to reality in our lives. 

God works to bring about the opposite in our lives. He brings success, peace and joy. He intends that we never find ourselves in a position where we are forced to face others in shame, because we did something wrong or we were not strong enough.

And we are not strong enough. That's why we need a savior. That's why we need a Father who stands with us. He have given all the resources we need so we can live as we were designed.

Our enemy will attack us without warning or provocation. He will make a preemptive strike.

Our Father is our ally, who treats us with respect. We need to choose to move into relationship with him, to access the necessary resources and to utilize them for our good, and for the world's good.