Daily Devotions
An Idle Mind
Title: An Idle Mind
Reading for April 14: 1 Kings 13-15
Weekly reading for April 8-14: Luke 10-14
"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first."
Luke 11:24-26
If you've lived long enough, you probably recognize that there are certain triggers that lead to sin. You can almost pinpoint the time of day, common annoyances, mood swings, and other circumstances behind your temptation.
One of those triggers for us is inactivity. As they say, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." While the saying is not from the Bible, it has biblical foundation (see Jesus' parable above).
This is why, for example, after the apostle Paul exhorts us to not get drunk with wine, he encourages us to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). In other words, it's not enough to simply avoid the bar. Once we have driven out the demon, we've got to replace it with the Spirit. So, instead of going to the bar, we could do other things (singing, prayer, giving thanks, etc.) that would fill us with God's Spirit.
Father, help us to truly "clean house" by not only ridding our hearts of the demons that afflict us, but by inviting your Spirit in to replace them.
