Josh Samarco

I am reminded this morning of how tempting it is to want to go back to something; To go back to a place we have no business going back to. Here is what I mean… As we pursue change, as we pursue to overcome, let go and dump our baggage, there always seems to come times where temptation seem to hit us the hardest. You know, you’ve been working hard at not looking back, you’ve been working hard at not thinking about old habits, people you’ve let go and then all of a sudden you have a moment. A moment where you cannot stop looking back. A moment where the past looks better than your present. A moment where you are questioning whether or not you are making the right decisions. Journey with me if you will.

We all have demons we have stored away and never plan on inviting back into our lives. If the word demons seem to freak you out, let me put it this way: We all have baggage, problems, and old habits from our past. For some odd reason, there are things and maybe people in our life that remind us of the bad memories and moments from our past. I believe you and I can agree, life would be much easier if we never had to reface our past but this we know is not the reality you and I face. Here’s a thought about our past:

Our past remains eager at trying to find a place in our present so that it can try to place its stamp on our future.

I am reminded of a story. In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus is talking about an evil spirit leaving a person. I want to point out verse 43: “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.“ So when the evil spirit returned, he found the person’s house (spirit) empty. So the evil spirit returned with seven more evil spirits stronger than the first evil spirit the man had. The Bible says, “this person is worse than he was before the evil spirit left.” You may be thinking why did I bring this Scripture reference up? Here’s why: When we let go of something, when we fight to overcome, we have to replace our old with something new. We have to replace our bad with something good. We have to continue to fill our spirit up with the One Who delivered us from our demons.

This person in Matthew 12 began living as if he would never be tempted again. As if all of his problems were taking care of for the rest of his life. Listen! You and I will be tempted again and again and again with the same thing(s) we’ve battled for years to overcome. We have to be on guard and ready to recognize the demon(s) trying to creep into our life. Imagine if the man in Matthew 12 recognized the evil spirit, imagine if he continued to fill his spirit with strength, courage, grace and God. We don’t know how his life turned out but I can imagine with seven more evil spirits stronger than the first evil spirit, his life probably didn’t end too well.

My friend, may we not awaken the demons we’ve fought so hard to get rid of. And may we not be naive in our thinking that our demons will not try to return to the place it once lived.