Thoughts about the battle with temptation

I’d like to offer you a few of my thoughts about temptation and the spiritual battle that we all must face. Use what helps now; put the rest aside.

Lord, free me from the desires that lead to darkness.

Jesus tempted by Satan and ministered to by the angels: The icon of my life.

By going through life blissfully ignoring the fact that we are being lured by Satan, we also blot out the reality that we are being ministered to by angels.

Sometimes I am so torn. Pulled in this direction and then in its opposite. At times my heart swells within me and I yearn to soar into the heavens and to that realm which transcends all human existence. Other times, I am rooted in earth, in things below, and the angel of Satan tries to throw me to the ground, and all my life is about is the darkness, the weakness, the woundedness.

Can it be that only by feeding my soul can the hunger of the wounded beast be calmed?

Those things in my life that have brought me true joy, true peace, true love, these have been the matters of soul and spirit. Those parts of my life which have brought me fleeting moments of pleasure have passed by quickly and, for the most part, have left me feeling empty and alone and unfulfilled in the core of my being.

Since you have been raised up in company with Christ, ask Him to help you use the pains and the trials in your life as opportunities to grow, to learn, so that you don't wallow in self-pity and anger that in the long run are more painful than the crosses Christ asks us to bear.

Since you have been raised up in company with Christ, let your eyes and ears feast on what fills you with joy that lasts, rather than on what brings you pleasure that quickly fades away."

Surround yourself with beauty, because it will help heal what is not beautiful in your life. Look at things that direct you to God. Look at things that direct you to what is best in yourself.

God bless you!