Excruciating pain seared through my eye. Since I had not slept in my contacts, I could not imagine what was causing so much pain. Perhaps I scratched my cornea somehow. Well, it will heal - or so I thought.
Throughout the day the pain increased. As I looked at my eye in a mirror, I could see a blurry patch of white on my iris. By that afternoon I decided a trip to the eye doctor was in order.
“An ulcer on the cornea,” said the doctor. “It started when a germ found the warm environment under your contact lens and grew out of control. I’m going to prescribe a strong, aggressive antibiotic.”
Just like the ulcer, sin creeps into my life. Oh, it doesn’t start out looking like sin. It begins as a thought, such as “I have too much to do today to spend time with God.” This thought enters the environment of my busy schedule, and, before I know it, my priorities have swung out of control and I have not spent time with God for days.
I get so caught up in my schedule that I often take on more than what God ever intended. What amazes me is that I don’t realize this until the pain starts. As I cry out to God, He graciously gives me the strong antibiotics of forgiveness, mercy, and discipline. The time spent before Him over the next days works a healing in my heart.
As with my eye, the best defense against the invasion is to keep the area pure. Psalm 119 addresses this in verse 9: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word.” Victory is won or lost by my response to the initial thought of putting God second. I need to win the battle at that moment.
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Faithe Finley Thomas lived as a missionary in Ghana, West Africa for six years. Her book "Staying in the Breeze" is a thoughtful reflection of some of her experiences. It can be purchased through Master Design - http://www.masterdesign.org/books/sffinley.shtml
Source: www.articlesphere.com