“Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead.” The Screwtape Letters, C.S.Lewis
I recently came upon this quote again, and the depth of wisdom this one sentence holds caught my attention.
When we look back at where we have been, we can be grateful at all the ways God has rescued, supported & guided us.
We essentially can read the story our life has written so far.
When we walk through our day, God is our ever present companion, and we can have confidence in His Love, knowing we are seen, heard & His.
It’s usually the first one or the eventual progression of the four vices in the last part of this sentence which trip us up.
FEAR of the unknown usually rises up when we focus on the future instead of God and His promises. Left unchecked, it will become a tool in the enemy’s hands to be used against us.
AVARICE – this uncommon word perfectly captures its definition: ‘exteme greed for wealth or material gain’. When we look to things to be our rescue or comfort for our future out of our fear that God will not provide where we stumble with avarice.
LUST – it is rare for greed to not partner with lust when our desire goes unchecked. Avarice wants it, lust craves it.
AMBITION – this is the ultimate in control, for it takes the fear of what if to the extreme. This is the height of avarice & lust combined, for now it wants the ability to control our destiny and possibly those of others. How often do we make plans for our glory instead of joining God in the journey to make His glory known?
The Word tells us how to cope this these kind of fearful, greedy & ambitious thoughts – for they are not from His Kingdom.
“We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.” (2 Cor 10:4-6 MSG)
Ask Holy Spirit today if any of these four need to be uprooted from your life today. Freedom is on the other side!
#sharingHope
KARLA LEES 