Getting It ALL Back!!!

Driving around while doing errands this morning, I was thinking about God and how merciful He is. A recent service (last night to be exact) brought me to a new level in my walk with God. No longer will I live at the altar of cyclical condemnation, never to feel the victory of sin washed in the blood and wiped from the pages of the Book of Life, to only feel relief for a short while before I run back to the altar to repent again for the same sins. While pondering these things and praising God, a couple of songs came to mind. Here are a portion of the lyrics from each song:

I Want It All Back

Tye Tribbett

(Verse 1)

You may have thought, you won that last round

You may have laughed (cuz) I almost fell down

Maybe you think I give up easy But its not ovah, I got more in me

You thought I stopped, you thought I sat down

But I am standin', you made me mad now!

You got some things, I think you owe me

I've come to get back everything that you stole

(Chorus)

I want it all back (repeated 4 times)

Faithful Is Our God

Hezekiah Walker

(Verse 1)

Faithful, Faithful Faithful is our God (repeat 3x)

I'm reaping the harvest God promised me

Take back what the devil stole from me

And I rejoice today, for I shall recover it all

And I rejoice today, for I shall recover it all.

Now, while thinking about these songs, I realized that I disagree with a line found in both songs. Both songs talk about taking back what the devil stole from us. I do not believe the devil "steals" from us, rather, we allow him access into areas that should be off limits and choose to let him have things he shouldn't be allowed to have.

I just read a commentary on the thief that comes to steal and to kill in the parable found in John 10:10 and found an interesting statement that correlates with my thought. The commentator makes this statement about a thief, "He enters not by the door, as having no lawful cause of entry, but climbs up some other way, at a window, or some breach in the wall." Our lack of faith and failure to stay prayed up and close to the Shepherd, causes a breach in our spiritual wall that allows the thief/satan to have access to our lives.

Are we seduced, enticed, lured, bewitched, or even tricked by the lies of the devil? Sure, we are. We are carnal by nature and when we are not prayed up like we should be, we can be enticed by the snares of old satan himself. However, though we may be "tricked", it is our choices that lead us to that place and our choices that determine the outcome of the enticement!

Will I still declare war on satan and the things he took that were by rights only mine and the Lord's? I sure will!!! Will I still sing the songs I referenced in this blog. Yes, I will. Only thing is, I wish I could sing...

"I'm reaping the harvest God promised me,

I'm taking back what I let the devil take from me...."

OR....

"You got some things, I think you owe me
I've come to get back everything that I let you steal from me...."

Alas, those phrases don't quite fit into the songs the way the original words do! LOL

But I AM declaring war on the devil and AM determined to storm hell's gates and take back what I gave away in moments of weakness....

my faith when I struggled to believe God really cared about me...

my hope when I felt my sins were unforgivable and heaven was no longer an attainable goal...

my self-respect when I failed to withstand the enticements of the world and satan's snares...

my relationships with brothers and sisters in the Lord that were damaged by my misdeeds...

my musical ability/song writing that were held hostage by the cycle of condemnation...

I am taking back my prayer life, my Bible reading, my walk with God. I want a continual renewal of the Holy Ghost that is attainable only through sacrificing time from reading novels, playing games on the computer, blogging, surfing the Internet, hanging out with friends.

Lord, I want a renewal of Your anointing on my life, on my family, and on my ministry through the musical gift you have bestowed upon me.

I WANT IT ALL BACK!!!!!!!!!!

AND WITH GOD ON MY SIDE....

THE DEVIL DOESN'T STAND A CHANCE!!!!!

P.S. I did a spell check and the word "satan" was highlighted as misspelled. I CHOOSE to leave it "misspelled" with a lower case "s"! To me, he is just a small blip that just got smaller because I took back all my stuff that he was hoarding in his lair.