Spiritual Termites

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to Him.
In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
(Psalm 4: 3-4)

Termites, those wood-munching midgets, cause most of their damage silently. By the time you see their tunnels, or discover the chewed wood, they are either long-gone (leaving weakened structures behind) or they are in full attack mode.

During my grad. school days, I remember watching houses in the Miami area being "tented" for termites. First, families, pets, plants and food were removed. Then, a whole building was covered in non-gas-permeable tarps, and the structure was flooded with poisons to kill off all of the crawling things. Here in Maryland we have these lovely subterranean termites (the kind that "recycle" downed wood and colonize in the frames of houses.) Our "perimeter defense system" (aka buried poison and baiting stations) have helped keep our home free from termite infestations... I think...

And that's the problem. We THINK that we don't have any termites. But I have this sneaking suspicion that, on any given day, you could find some chomping away less than a meter from our home. We dare not let our termite treatment 'guarantee' lapse. We don't want to be caught off guard.

Ah, that I could only be so diligent in the spiritual realm. But I am not! Over the last several months, I've found 'colonies' of all sorts of "spiritual termites" trying to take up residence in my life. By themselves, they are basically innocuous, or at their worst, distracting others from the Christ-likeness I want to show in my life. It is a bit disquieting to discover this.

The only effective treatments? Prayer. Times of quiet reflection. Scripture. Accountability to friends. Honesty - REAL honesty with God about what I dream of doing for Him, and where I am in the process. It's not that I need to self-flagellate or have a time of morbid self-introspection. Nope. I just need to get "face time" with Jesus. I need to hear His Heart, as He knows mine so well, and respond...

Are we on the same page, Lord?
Is there anything else I should be thinking
...or doing
...or saying
...or not saying?

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD;
He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases.
All a man's ways seem right to him,
but the LORD weighs the heart.
To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
(Proverbs 21:1-3)

From our home to yours -
Deb