Protecting The Eye Gates
Has God ever showed you something that He'd like you to work on in your spiritual life? It might have been some sin, or something you've overcome that you can help others with, or maybe you've been given a burden for someone or some issue.
So when you see other people committing that sin, it should rub you the wrong way. If God helped you overcome alcohol abuse, watching people purchase liqueur at the grocery store should bother you. If you used to use foul language, hearing curse words should make you bristle. If the Lord helped you through living in an abusive home, it should make your skin crawl hearing about child abuse.
Now, it takes quite a bit to make me angry, but I was furious while we were driving on our recent trip to Houston. It's terribly difficult for those of us who are trying to keep our eye gates pure when you're traveling. In one stretch of road in particular I was fuming – Danny saw me in the rear view mirror and said I looked fit to be tied.
It started with a whole series of billboards for an adult store – advertising in big, bold letters what they had for sale. In between those was a sign for a telecommunications company, with a bikini-clad girl holding up the product for all to see. Then came ads for alcohol and tobacco products with the same type of revealing proclamations.
Then a car pulled over into the lane in front of us, forcing us to read the name of a nasty web site for several minutes. That name is now burned into my brain, regardless of what I wanted.
Flaunting sexual sin is nothing new, but it's like a blinking neon sign when it's something God has called you away from in your own walk. I cherish my relationship with Danny. My husband and I are working every day to grow a tight, committed, loving marriage, and that is severely tested when temptations are everywhere. Even if trust and devotion aren't in question, it's a struggle to protect your eye gates from sin.
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Proverbs 5:15
It's such a challenge to keep focused and pure when you're faced with temptation constantly. We can censor what comes into our homes and we can be cautious about where we go. But when someone else places words and images in front of us, it can be frustrating and discouraging. The devil just loves to wreak havoc on your mind, making you think and question and stew on things.
I have learned the hard way that ignoring those evil thoughts is one of the hardest things a woman has to do every day. We fight a battle of the mind continually to think on those things that are good and pure and true. Bombarded with evil, our eyes gates are attacked whether we want them to or not, and the same goes even more so for our husbands.
Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. Proverbs 27:20
Despite all the wickedness we will be forced to see, God gives us the strength and endurance to live a life pure and holy for Him. If our eyes are on Him and in the Scripture, the attack won't seem so devastating. If our eyes are focused on our husbands and growing that relationship, there won't be room for hurt and misunderstanding. If our eye gates are locked to those evils we can control, we'll be more equipped to fight the ones we can't control.
The Lord said in Scripture many times that life on this earth would be a battle. He inspired Paul to write about the whole armor of God that would protect in any situation. His defenses are sufficient.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:14-17
So put on the armor, the whole armor, of God and He will give your eyes gates what they need to be protected. Trust in Him when you can't trust in the ways of the world.
So when you see other people committing that sin, it should rub you the wrong way. If God helped you overcome alcohol abuse, watching people purchase liqueur at the grocery store should bother you. If you used to use foul language, hearing curse words should make you bristle. If the Lord helped you through living in an abusive home, it should make your skin crawl hearing about child abuse.
Now, it takes quite a bit to make me angry, but I was furious while we were driving on our recent trip to Houston. It's terribly difficult for those of us who are trying to keep our eye gates pure when you're traveling. In one stretch of road in particular I was fuming – Danny saw me in the rear view mirror and said I looked fit to be tied.
It started with a whole series of billboards for an adult store – advertising in big, bold letters what they had for sale. In between those was a sign for a telecommunications company, with a bikini-clad girl holding up the product for all to see. Then came ads for alcohol and tobacco products with the same type of revealing proclamations.
Then a car pulled over into the lane in front of us, forcing us to read the name of a nasty web site for several minutes. That name is now burned into my brain, regardless of what I wanted.
Flaunting sexual sin is nothing new, but it's like a blinking neon sign when it's something God has called you away from in your own walk. I cherish my relationship with Danny. My husband and I are working every day to grow a tight, committed, loving marriage, and that is severely tested when temptations are everywhere. Even if trust and devotion aren't in question, it's a struggle to protect your eye gates from sin.
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Proverbs 5:15
It's such a challenge to keep focused and pure when you're faced with temptation constantly. We can censor what comes into our homes and we can be cautious about where we go. But when someone else places words and images in front of us, it can be frustrating and discouraging. The devil just loves to wreak havoc on your mind, making you think and question and stew on things.
I have learned the hard way that ignoring those evil thoughts is one of the hardest things a woman has to do every day. We fight a battle of the mind continually to think on those things that are good and pure and true. Bombarded with evil, our eyes gates are attacked whether we want them to or not, and the same goes even more so for our husbands.
Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. Proverbs 27:20
Despite all the wickedness we will be forced to see, God gives us the strength and endurance to live a life pure and holy for Him. If our eyes are on Him and in the Scripture, the attack won't seem so devastating. If our eyes are focused on our husbands and growing that relationship, there won't be room for hurt and misunderstanding. If our eye gates are locked to those evils we can control, we'll be more equipped to fight the ones we can't control.
The Lord said in Scripture many times that life on this earth would be a battle. He inspired Paul to write about the whole armor of God that would protect in any situation. His defenses are sufficient.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:14-17
So put on the armor, the whole armor, of God and He will give your eyes gates what they need to be protected. Trust in Him when you can't trust in the ways of the world.
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