So this piece from three years ago, reworked, seemed most appropriate for today.
The proverbial “they” often say even a monkey learns from his or her mistakes. And despite what others might choose to believe, I am smarter than a monkey.
Thus, after many years of knock down losing battles against the evil one followed by a lot of digging into the word of the Lord I long ago gave up the notion that I can handle Satan all by myself.
I’m ever learning to rely more and more on the Holy Spirit.
But He still has yet a lot of honing to do on me, especially in the areas of humility and my ever smoldering carnal urge to self-destruct.
“Dear gracious and heavenly Father, continue to let your Spirit be my light, my staff and my comfort on righteous paths past this insidious ruler of the air.”
That’s a regular petition of mine through Jesus.
Yet often – without warning – Mr. Macho Man springs up in me and next I’m running on my own steam, headlong, into darkness.
My recent exit from a long career in newspapering remains a prime example of all that I’m saying.
The craft, when I came to it some 37 years ago, seemed more about how a story was written rather than how it was disseminated. I was a big fan of that.
Today, however, it seems quite the opposite: Get the story out in some form or another regardless how it’s written seems the order of things. I don’t like that.
Yet stubbornly I tried to remain pushing the old ways in the new realm.
I’d even ignore clear urgings from the Holy Spirit, who would regularly tell me mainly through inner voices: “Hey come on, get out of this stuff. Go concentrate more on your work for the Lord. You’ll have a lot more time and you’ll have a lot more satisfaction.”
“I still have things I want to do in this worldly realm,” I’d tell myself even when I’d question “Why am I doing this – this is no fun anymore.”
Then on a bright morning when I felt as if I was pushing myself through the front door of the newspaper office, the folks who now run the place called me into a meeting.
The session was clearly orchestrated by the Spirit because before it was over, the bosses cut me a fine deal I couldn’t turn down.
I left the newspaper and never looked back. And today I feel 10 years younger.
Even a monkey wouldn’t forget the strong lessons gained from all that.
Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
Ozzie Roberts
March 3, 2019
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