Most people will read this question and immediately reply “of course not.” They think of the thieves that roam the towns and cities of our nations, usually under cover of darkness. They break in when the residents are not home, or they quietly sneak in during the wee hours of the morning, taking as many valuables as they can without getting caught. Thankfully, I have never been a victim of those kinds of thieves. But I think all of us have been a subjected to the thievery to which I am actually referring.

The evil one is the thief and he wants to steal our joy, our faith, our trust in the Father. He wants to kill our relationship with the Father and to destroy our families, our hope and our happiness. But the only way he can do that is if we turn to him and give him the keys. That means we make wrong choices and fail to honor God with our lives. That thief rules lives by trickery and deceit and many of us have fallen for those lies at sometime or another.

Jesus doesn’t come into our lives to take things from us. He wants us to be happy, fulfilled and complete in Him. After all, He sends His Holy Spirit to walk with us and to live with us daily, teaching and reminding us of what Jesus would want us to do and say. Our choices will always be our choices and each time we make the right one, we are choosing that abundant life He promised. Life isn’t always easy when we walk with the Lord, but it can always be full of hope for a future with Him and a knowledge that He is walking with us no matter what we are going through. Just a side note: the thief takes us into what looks like a beautiful flower garden, we look again and it’s a desert wasteland, and he abandons us there, laughing as he makes his way to the next person he can trap with his lies. Jesus gives us choices, we make choices (sometimes the wrong ones) and He walks with us through those choices. Right or wrong, His love is ever present.

Every morning should start with a prayer of commitment and trust. Our lives are in the hands of the One who loves us most and knows us best.

This prayer is from the YouVersion daily devotional for today. It goes along with the theme. Notice that the enemy’s attacks aren’t always a direct assault on us. Instead, he tries to divert our attention, take our time, sap our energy with meaningless pursuits, etc. He is cunning, but he is also defeated. When we look to Jesus, we will find the way to the life that we really need. Under His protection, we don’t have to be concerned about the attacks of the enemy because God is our strength and fortress, if we allow Him to be.

Now go back and read the title again. I hope it makes more sense to you now and speaks to your heart. Have a blessed day!