January 4, 2024

Several years ago, a man in Japan noticed that some of his food was missing. At first, he wrote it off as not remembering correctly, but after it continued, he knew that something was going on. He decided to install some security cameras to catch what was going on. When one of his cameras picked up an image of a person in his apartment, he called the police. After a thorough search, the police finally found a 58-year-old woman hiding on a high shelf in his closet. She confessed that she was homeless and got into his apartment one day when he left it unlocked. But here’s the kicker. She had been living in his apartment for A YEAR! Now that’s scary enough to make us ALL go home and check our closets and attics!
The truth is, we DO have someone hiding in our lives. He tries to keep in the background and not make his presence known. But he watches. And He waits. When he sees an opportunity, he quickly moves in. That hidden bandit is the Devil. Jesus says in verse 19 of our parable that he is represented by the “birds” in our story. Whenever God tries to plant a seed in our hearts, the Enemy tries to steal it away. He plants doubts in our minds. He tries to create wedges between us and other people. He floods us with thoughts of shame and fear. He showers us with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. He tells us God isn’t real. He tells us God doesn’t care. He tells us God can’t use us. He tells us nobody likes us. He does everything in his power to steal the seed that God is trying to give us. And then he slips back into hiding. Sadly, we often don’t even recognize that it was Satan at work.
It might not be a bad idea to do a closet check from time to time. We might want to spend a part of our prayer time asking God to make us aware of the Enemy’s movements and to help us to know when it’s the Enemy speaking. Even more important is to seek God so consistently and passionately that we know the sound of our Lord’s Voice and become immediately responsive to Him. We don’t need to live in fear of the Enemy, but we do need to be aware that he is hiding close by. Let’s be wise and discerning, or he might steal some of God’s good seed from US! That’s God’s Word for you today.