Proverbs 22:3

"A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished." Proverbs 22:3

We must never underestimate our ability to fall. A relapse into our old ways can happen at anytime. It often happens without our realization. Personally, I was blindsided by my own desires in a time that I thought I was strong in my walk with the Lord. Prudence was thrown out the window. The fact is that I relapsed into simplicity for a brief time. My eyes were fixed on my own desires and not the desires of my Lord. Caution is required when we see something we think we truly want or need. It can happen to anyone at anytime.

Women have always been a weakness for me. I know this and usually I am cautious. In this case, I was sidetracked without even realizing it. There was not anything untoward that transpired. A shifting of attention occurred. My focus was taken off the Lord, and fixed upon the lady. I didn't even realize that it had happened. My time and energy went towards her, and God and my friends took a back seat. I distanced myself from people. Guilt was a major reason, playing its melancholy tune in the background. Thankfully, time does work wonders.

Two weeks into this ordeal, God started smacking me around. Dropping little notes. My writing was affected. Thoughts did not flow like they used to. Understanding of the Word was not there. I was straining to write, instead of being inspired. Guilt began to rise, along with unrighteous thoughts. The longer that I stayed in the friendship, the more that I regressed. My thoughts took a turn for the worse. The first TRUE wake-up call that I received. A cosmic smack across the cheek. God hit me with the glove of Temperance. Thank God that He is soooo very faithful.

The reeling-in process began. I severed the friendship. Apologized to the friends that I had wronged. The sun began to shine in my dismal world again. Birds were singing. Clouds dispersed. I hadn't even realized how dreary my life had become. How weighted my soul felt. How much I had betrayed God. A new relationship had caught my eye, and I allowed myself to be whisked away from the One that means the most in my life. The heart is a truly deceitful thing. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9 It can alter our course, and we not even know it. The rocks looming ahead is a late warning. Luckily, Jesus is always there to look out for us. He was definitely there in my time of need.

Temperance is what I learned. Temperance is self-control. We must never put more or all of our time into something(hobbies, sports, video games, people) than into Jesus. It means you are investing more into the world than into Jesus. The world becomes your priority. God and Jesus should always be #1 in our lives. The more you invest into the world; the more the world invest in you. The smaller God becomes in your life; the smaller the afterlife grows for you. Remember everyone, TOO MUCH of the world is a BAD THING. TOO MUCH of God... well....NO SUCH THING!!!

kenny