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What's Eating You?

by Sheila Dougal  
1/31/2007 / Devotionals


"And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing." Joshua 11:14

It's a whole new life, the promised land, but it's not easy. Here there's a very distinct difference in the day to day journey, than before we walked fully by the Spirit, here we use the world, the world doesn't use us.

The word "spoil" in this verse from Joshua means prey, the kill of a predator. When Joshua and his men went in to take down an enemy camp or city the Lord had instructed them that every man was to go in straight before him (Joshua 6:20), and the looking straight ahead would keep them from falling for the lure and lies of the enemy. Yet now as the Lord has delivered the enemy into the hand of Israel, and they put an end to the enemy camp, it says that Israel took the spoil of the cities.

Unlike Achan, only after the enemy was completely destroyed did they take the "booty" left. There was no life attatched to it anymore, no lure of deception from the enemy. Now they could take the stuff for themselves as prey. They ate it, it didn't eat them.

I have experienced this in a very real way in my marriage. Having seen the death of my marriage, and then witnessing the miraculous healing of it over the past 2 1/2 years I know what Paul meant in 1Corinthians 7:29-32, "But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives (husbands) should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away. But I want you to be without care."

When Israel crossed over Jordan into the promised land, they died to the way they lived before. They left not only the bondage of Egypt, but also the life in the desert where they were consumed by worry of what they were going to eat, though God always provided. They went from being enslaved and controlled by the things and ways of the world to a life where they controlled the pleasures and supply of their needs, because the evil attached to those pleasures and riches were now dead.

Having seen the end of the enemies grip on my heart concerning my marriage, even the pleasures of marriage (much sweeter to me now than before our separation) no longer control me. Before I was consumed with my husbands faults, or our marriage problems. In fact if you looked through my journals you'd read about ten years of "James this" and "our marriage that", and then a distinct change occurs after the reuniting of our relationship. Now it's, "Lord only You, that's all I long for!"

Marriage is great, material pleasures are enjoyable, even children are a tremendous joy, but when any of my relationships or possessions, or activities are eating me up it's because the enemy still has his hand in my pot. He's still using the relationships and things of this world to control me. Since I've seen and experienced the supernatural peace of God which transcended the horrible circumstances of the ending of my marriage, nothing and no one else can bring me peace and satisfaction.

I now enjoy the pleasures of marriage, and use this relationship for good- to show Christ in every way I can as a wife. The pleasures of marriage, neither the abundance nor the lack of, use me. I'm free in every way. Not to misuse my role as wife, but to use it for good.

I wish all wives could experience what I have. Not that I want marriages to end in divorce, or that anyone would even have to go through what I did, but the truth is 60% of marriages in the church are dead, divorced, and over. I truly believe it's not because the husband or the wife has found a better person, it's because even we in the body of Christ have allowed the enemy to camp in our homes and it's his grip on us, not our husbands issues, which eat us up and control us. We don't use the marriage relationship for displaying God's character, it uses us to defame the name of God in us.

So how do you and I take control of the people, situations, or things that control us and are eating us up? We have to be willing to let them go. Literally. I truly believe if we would allow God to do whatever it took to destroy the grip of the enemy in our lives, even if it meant the loss of a relationship, or the loss of a job, or the loss of a possession we would not be more divorced but less, not more in need but less, not destitute but rich. I'm not saying every marriage would be saved and every Christian would be rich, I'm saying the reputation of God amongst His people would be saved and God's people would be blessed, NO DOUBT!

What consumes you? What do you constantly need to enjoy life or wish you didn't have so you could enjoy life? What's eating you? Whatever it is, I pray you and I would increasingly be dissatisfied with ANYTHING having power over us, and pray in faith, truly accepting whatever it would take for God to make us free people.

Sheila Dougal is a 32 year old wife and mother living in Goodyear, Arizona with her husband James and their two sons. She enjoys serving in the women's and children's ministries at her local church, and writing on her website www.wifeofvalor.com.

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