Hurry! Don’t Miss Out!

Throughout this past holiday season, I woke up every morning to my email inbox flooded with the high-pressure sales tactics of the advertising world. It’s really a very clever industry. Advertisers get into your head and create a sense of urgency and need and before you know it, you buy into the “got to have it” mentality. If that doesn’t work, advertisers will make you think that if you’re really a savvy shopper, this amazing discount is a wise purchase. After all, who wants to pay full price. One more tactic is the sense of hurry. The seventy-five percent discount will never come back! I fell for it once or twice and after that, I had to say “no” to all the advertising pressures and getting sidetracked along the way.

I can’t help but relate this whole lesson to what the serpent did to Eve in Genesis 3.

Now the serpent was craftier than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Gen 3:15

 The master advertiser (adversary, the accuser, deceiver, devil, enemy, liar, murderer, serpent, schemer, thief), began his work in the garden and has continued ever since.

He got into Eve’s head and seduced her away from God’s good, acceptable and perfect will for her life. Rom 12:2 He convinced her (and us) that somehow, she was missing out and that God was holding out.

As I step into this new year, more than ever I want to have my eyes wide open to all the tactics of the enemy of my soul. Just like Eve, his lies are designed to get me sidetracked and end 2019 realizing that the only thing I really missed out on was living fully and freely for God’s purpose and His purpose alone.

The Lord reminded me of Acts 13:36 and how King David served the purpose of God in his generation. Yes, there were bumps in the road in this man’s life but the bible tells us that he was a man after God’s own heart!

Acts 13:36 is my verse for the New Year. What I have in my Savior is all I need! He is more than enough! And He is worthy that I serve His purpose in my generation, without apology, and without regret!