As a few of you may know I work at a bank full time. I deal with tons of germy people and germy money. So every teller window always has a heavy supply of hand sanitizer that we all use religiously. I constantly find myself turning to it to grid myself of the filth and germs I constantly come in contact with. Well today while I was trying to think of what I wanted to post as a devotional for Inflamed I caught myself starring at my bottle of Purell Hand Sanitizer. How is it that I can barely make it 5 minutes at work without getting another dose of sanitizer, but seemingly can go hours, days, (and let’s get real and honest, months) at a time without feeling the need to cleanse myself spiritually?
If you’ve been a born again, child of God for any length of time you probably understand what I mean when I say backslidden. We all from time to time fall back into sin and distance ourselves from God, not meaning to. It always seems to go this way (for me atleast), just when I’m my closest with God, Satan does everything in his power to knock me down and distance me from God. He knows exactly which sins I struggle with most and always seems to push the right buttons. Before I know it I can’t even feel God’s presence anymore. I need sanitation, but not for my hands, but Purell for the heart.
James 4:7-10 NKJV
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
In order to clean up your heart and purify your spirit you must realize that there’s nothing you can do on your own power. The only individual who can cleanse your soul is the same God who has saved your soul. Therefore we must submit/give in to God’s leadership. As you submit to God and allow Him to lead, you’ll soon realize how much easier it is to resist Satan (because it’s God acting through you). James also says that we must return to God, drawing near to Him. The beautiful thing about that is that God never left, He is stationary, never leaving us. If we are distanced from God it’s because we ran in the opposite direction. And when we do decide to turn back and draw near to God, He doesn’t stay stationary; He says that He will draw near to us, meetings us in the middle each time with open arms. (DISCLAIMER: Don’t mistake this “meeting in the middle” as Him compromising with us and giving in to us…that’s not what is meant here.) Yes He will run towards us and welcome us with open arms because He is a gracious and loving God. But He is also a just God. Meaning that we may endure some “growing pains” due to our sin and disobedience, but I can testify that each time Satan tore me down, when I came back to God, our relationship was stronger and more stable each and every time.So the next time you feel filthy due to any germs, dirt, or grime and go to reach for that favorite bottle of hand sanitizer, think of your heart and your current relationship with God. Maybe you’ll notice that your heart needs just as much sanitation as your hands do…
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