What now? You have bitten the proverbial fruit. You've sinned against God, against your family, and your spouse. Hearts are broken, emotions in turmoil, vocation in shambles, testimony ruined. Do you rationalize your sin? Do you justify why you made the choices you did? No. You go back to the ABC's you've been teaching in Vacation Bible School--the ones you learned as a child: You admit. Believe. Confess.
And then your repent. You turn from your wicked ways. And then you put in place the safeguards necessary to protect yourself from falling into this situation. Will you ever be the same again? No. Thank God. You will grow and you will allow God to be God and stop pretending you can handle everything in life. You will put aside yourself and consider Him first so that in all areas of your life you hear His voice behind your right ear so you may walk in that direction. You will learn the warning signs of vulnerability. You will heed those warnings and resist the devil. And he will flee. You will put on the whole armor of God and you will recognize immediately if you've left a girdle unbuckled, or a shoe unlaced. You will feel the weight of the helmet of salvation and be aware of the power of the sword at your hand.
And you will learn to forgive yourself. Even when others cannot. And you will understand why these cannot forgive and you will be patient. You will not beat up on them or on yourself. You will do all you can to rebuild the trust you once had and took for granted.
You will face lonely moments. You will face empowering moments. You will face times when you think all is well with your soul. And you will know that not one day is certain that you and anyone you know could just as easily fall prey to temptation again or for the first time. And God will give you a new discernment to help you help others. And you will not water down your responsibility in keeping yourself accountable to Him and to your marriage vows. And you will seek the help of others to help you deal with your weaknesses. And you will seek God to help you and pray for God to protect others who face similar weaknesses. And God will answer and show you great and mighty things which you do not even imagine possible that will restore to you and others the days the locust has eaten. selahV
[ARE YOU VULNERABLE? PART ONE]
[COMING TOMORROW: ARE YOU VULNERABLE? Part Three: SAFEGUARDS AND WARNINGS]
