Daniel 5 / 2 Peter 2 / Psalm 119:113-128 / Proverbs 28:19-20
Several years ago, when my children were small, the Lord talked to me about giving up two things. He asked me to give them up because they had control over me instead of me having control over them. I will tell you about both things, then I want to share a verse from today’s reading.
The first thing the Lord asked me to give up was watching Star Trek and all the subsequent series. Why? When my children were small, I was concerned they would be afraid of the alien images on the show, so I would only watch when they were asleep. All three of them have prophetic gifting so all three were known to be negatively affected by certain images, especially on television.
I remember Matthew, my oldest, running out of the room when something that scared him would appear on the screen. I thought I was fine to watch the shows when the children couldn’t see them, but this is what God said to me. “Maria, if your children do not need to be watching them because it is affecting them prophetically, you do not need to watch them either.”
So, for many years I did not watch anything associated with Star Trek. It was probably about fifteen to twenty years that I took this Star Trek fast. I have only in recent years caught up with what I missed and enjoyed. I was pleased to discover I was no longer ruled by having to watch the shows.
The second thing the Lord asked me to give up was drinking Dr. Pepper. There was something unique about the flavor of that drink that I could not get enough of. Again, the Lord alerted me to the fact that I was being controlled by something and He asked me to stop drinking it. I never went back to drinking it
I tried diet Dr. Pepper many years later but found I had no interest. Now, I wouldn’t drink any sodas because they are so harmful with the corn syrups and heavy sugars. My current clean eating lifestyle does not allow me to pollute my body with this or any other processed foods.
The verse that has me remembering these stories is found in 1 Peter 2:19 NLT They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. Those who are promising freedom are the false teachers who lead others astray and into sin.
The phrase that struck me most was the fact that I become a slave to anything that controls me. That is eye-opening and I believe we must operate in discernment, so we don’t become trapped by anything. We must be controlled only by Holy Spirit. I know God will faithfully show us if there are any areas where we are being controlled by sin. Are you brave enough to ask Him to open your eyes to those areas?
I pray you make the choice to ask this question of God. Asking the question need not be a fearful task because God only wants to bring freedom to our souls. It may be hard to give up that thing or habit, but in the end, you will be so glad you did because you will feel free and light. Most of the time we’re not aware we are being controlled, but once we’ve tasted freedom there is something in us that never wants to return to the chains!
