The unknown!
Have you ever had something crawling on you and you had no idea what it was? You brush it off and the next thing you know it is there again and again.
This is what happened to me recently. We went to a creek with some newly made friends. We were sitting there with our feet in the water when I felt something crawling on my foot. I looked down and there was a rock on top of my foot. Shoving the rock off, I went on listening to the conversation that was happening. Then I felt something on my foot again. I looked down and there was another rock on my foot. And of course, I shoved it off again. I did this a number of times. You can see the video here: IMG_1464
You might be saying, “Well, you have your feet in a creek and water is moving constantly.” You’re exactly right. As it kept happening I never gave it much thought but then I looked more closely. I realized that it was something crawling up onto my foot. We pulled out the rock and discovered it was not a rock at all, it was camouflaged like a rock but it was hollow inside and there was an animal in it. I am not sure what it was but when it would come out it was black. So it would go in to hide but when it thought it was safe it would start to crawl around on the bottom of the creek. I could not believe how much it looked and felt like a rock.
Lesson
Camouflage can be a good thing. God has made it a way of protection for creatures. But there is a bad side to camouflage. A creature can disguise itself so it is not seen and pounce on its victim when they are not expecting it.
So here is the question, is there a good side to camouflage in the Christian realm? There are many Christians who just want to fit in with everybody else. They will become like a Chameleon, act or be like whatever group they are in. Being different is not what they want to do, they just camouflage right in. They don’t want to stand out or be different because they are afraid of losing influence, friends, popularity, etc. I think we have all been there at one time or another. We don’t want to rock the boat so we just fit in. What can make the difference?
There is only one thing that can make the difference, falling in love with Jesus Christ. How can we really do that? Spending time. You don’t get to know someone without spending time with time. You cannot truly fall in love without getting to know a person. It is the same with Christ. We have to spend time getting to know Him. We need to realize what He has done for us.
Think of someone in your life that you would stand up for no matter whom you’re with. You love them so much that when people start talking bad about them or just act certain ways, you would not just keep silent, and you would stand up.
The only way we can stand up for Christ and what He has done for us is to get to know Him and have such a personal relationship with Him that no one can tell the difference between us and Jesus. We are camouflaged with Him. When they have been with us they have felt as if they have been with Jesus.
Counterfeit
Then there is the camouflage we have to keep our eye out for. The devil has the best camouflage for evil. And just like this little creature kept creeping up onto my foot, the devil knows how to disguise things so that they look as innocent as the little rock looked to me, and it creeps in. We start by reading, watching, or listening to something that is mostly good but just has a little taint of bad. But slowly a creeping compromise happens and we are reading, watching, or listening to things we thought we never would do.
Getting back
Thank the Lord for the forgiveness that He has for us when we return to Him with a confession. Confession is the beginning of getting back in right relation to Him.
We need to get back to the simplicity of God’s Word. He makes things so simple but we complicate things. A lot of times it can be because we just want to keep on doing the “little” things that we so enjoy.
What can we do?
- Spend a thoughtful hour each day contemplating the Life of Christ. As we can come to realize what Christ has done for us so that we can spend eternity with Him, it can help to change our mindset.
- Spend time in prayer. Having that communion with God is so important. He longs to hear from us. It doesn’t matter what, He wants to hear our worries as well as our victories or requests. He is always there to guide us.
- Hide God’s Word in your heart. It is always good to have scripture that we can draw from to guide us with our decisions each day. Every time we need to make a decision about whether something we want to read, watch, or listen to is right or good, here are a couple good verses. “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” Psalms 101:3. And another favorite is in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Dear Father,
You are our ever-present power if we will just reach out to You for strength to overcome. Forgive us for all our shortcomings and help us to stay in Your Word. Give us wisdom each day as we are on this journey of life. Show us Your ways. Thank You for always being there ready and able to help us as we allow You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Give your life in full to Jesus today so that you can reflect His character. Stay so close to Him that you won’t get caught off guard with the devil’s camouflage, but that you will be fully reflecting Christ.
Love you all.
What is the most unusual camouflage you have seen? And what spiritual lesson can you share about it?