Psalm 16:8

I keep the Lord in mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 119:164

I will praise you seven times a day because all your regulations are just.

Is God good?

Does God want good for us?

Are His commands for the purpose of our life to not be any fun?

Or are they given in order to be our guide to the pathway of enjoying Him (and therefore, life) to a degree we did not know possible?

Does God want us to be with Him because He has a huge ego and needs constant attention and praise? (Maybe God’s love language is words of affirmation)

Or does He woo us to Himself because He knows us better than we know ourselves, and understands more than we allow ourselves to understand, that the only way we can ever be truly happy is to be with Him? Nothing heals a heart, but God alone. Like the bumper sticker says, “No Jesus. No peace. Know Jesus. Know peace.”

The enemy is effing brilliant. I am convinced more than ever that he has succeeded in duping us into believing that the “Matrix” is real. The illusion that this world we see is all there is.

We are not simply drinking the Kool-Aid, we are swimming in it. And we do not even realize it because of our deep immersion in it for so very long. Like the story of the two young fish swimming along, coming upon an older fish who asks, “How’s the water today?” The two young ones look at each other bewildered and swim on. Finally the one young fish asks the other, “What the hell is water?”

Satan successfully keeps us from God, the only source of true healing for our hearts, with an inordinate fear of legalism and rigidity. I see the reaction constantly at the mention of spending any time with God, whether it be prayer, Scripture, silence, what have you. All these sensors go off screaming “Legalism! Rigid! You’re trying to control me and make me do what you do!”

Meanwhile, you do not plug into God. You do not fill with this divine power supply and gain supernatural perspective and the ability to see clearly the Matrix we are living in. This culture of running around, distracted and consuming is such excrement and unfulfilling and all pervasive, I am starting to wonder if we can even live out a life with God while in it.

Satan is so amazing at keeping us from the only thing that can overpower His lies. I guess I’d do that too if I were Him. I’d tell my demons, “Keep people thinking it’s legalism and ridiculosity and you’re safe. They’ll search all these other endless places for the answer, and it will drown them eventually because they will move farther and farther away from YHWH Himself. They love the hunt for the next book, guru, church, support group, etc. The answer they seek is so simple that they actually think it’s complicated and rigid! Oh these humans, sometimes they make our job too easy. I wish they’d put up a little more fight sometimes and actually try to go directly to God. Then we’d have a proper challenge on our hands! Oh well, it’s still kinda fun to watch them wander around looking for what’s right in front of them.”

[Sinister laugh through fade to black}