"A Thorn"

  I once had a friend telling me about his encounter with a dog. The dog snarled at him and had that look of attack. My friend was always attracted to dogs so he decided he would try to pet him but knew in order to do that he had to do something to disable his ability to attack. He drew close as the dog began to bark and show his teeth. Suddenly he grabbed hold of the dog, taking him off his feet while wrapping his arms completely around him. The dog struggled but could not free himself from the grasp. The dog calmed down and upon examination my friend found a thorn lodged in the dogs front paw. It had to be removed. The dog was not going to allow this to be easy and began his struggle and snarling again. The thorn was removed. The dog became calmer and settled down allowing my friend to pet him. 

  As I listened to this it reminded me of what I have seen over and over in the lives of people. It seems when people are involved in sin or guilty of sin, they become this agitated, negative person and will turn on their loved ones in a second! Sin is a thorn which grows and festers and the longer it stays in your life, it begins to consume you. Those caught in sin do not see this. 

  David said long ago: "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer." (Psa. 32:3-4) David found himself suffering, wasting away, hard to accomplish daily tasks and was doing a lot of groaning. Why? He refused to acknowledge his sin to the Lord! 

  The longer one stays in their sins, the more this thorn hurts and the more miserable one becomes. When people are trapped in sin, they accuse the innocent of the very things they themselves are practicing. They trust no one because they know themselves as untrustworthy. They are on edge because they live on the edge of being caught or discovered. It has been this way from the beginning. Sin will take one down!

  But there is another way. David spoke the remedy: "I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord'; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psa. 32:5) 

  The longer one walks in their guilt, the worse their state of mind becomes and the agitation of their life continues to grow but when one turns to the Lord, willing to forsake their sin and confess, there one finds forgiveness (I John 1:9)!

 What about you? When is the last time you and the Lord had a heart to heart encounter and you were honest with Him? Until the thorn is removed, there will be no life, no peace and no relief from guilt. Jesus is waiting!