Our Garden
We opened the front door of our home to be greeted by a snake. It isn’t something we commonly see although we were aware we had a snake in the garden. It was surprising that it was there, right in front of us making its presence known. The snake then dutifully accompanied us down the stairs in our garden before slithering off to hide under a stone.
The First Garden
The thought that crossed my mind was that we are not the only couple to have a snake in the garden. Adam and Eve were, of course, the most famous couple in that position and we all know where that led. Satan who made his grand entrance in the form of a snake used low-down, dirty rotten tactics to cause division between Adam and Eve and God. In Genesis 3 he was described as being more crafty than any other beast he hasn’t changed his character! I was reminded how many of us deal on a daily basis with questions which seem to come out of nowhere. Sometimes it’s a stream of negative thoughts about our spouse that we are bombarded with, at other times we are prone to blaming them for the stresses of everyday life.
Your Garden
In our lives, we don’t usually see the ‘snake’ but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. What are the snakes in your garden? Lies? Blame? Discontent? I’m sure most of you, like us, would rather not share your space with a reptile. Why is it then that we entertain these thoughts and play with them instead of chucking them out of our ‘gardens’. Perhaps you have even been convinced to blame God for what you are going through instead of recognising the true source of the trouble.
Drive out the Snakes
When you recognise where all the attack is coming from you don’t have to put up with it, you can overcome. The age old tales of St Patrick driving out the snakes from Ireland may be the stuff of legends but you can drive out the ‘snakes’ in your marriage.
Luke 10:19 ESV
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
