I had this vision the other day in the shower.
There was the enemy (in the form of a serpent…perhaps this was when I was reading through the Garden of Eden debacle in my reading plan)
…and I was in a place I felt comfortable…very comfortable.
We were engaging in some sort of gift exchange.
Who doesn’t like a gift exchange, right?!
But this gift exchange was different.
It seemed too good to be true.
We each passed gifts to each other.
First, I handed over a gift box to the enemy.
Then, the enemy handed over my gift…but to my surprise, the gift box I received was twice as large!
I thought, “What a sweet deal! I’m sure there’s something awesome in here.”
However, there was one immediate downfall from receiving a gift box twice as large…
…I didn’t have enough room in the space around me, so I had to throw something out to make room for the new, larger gift box.
At the time this decision felt like a no-brainer.
I was clearly getting the better end of this deal.
When it came time to open the gifts the order remained the same.
I always went first. I took the first action.
I opened the gift box and….
Nothing.
Empty box.
Completely empty.
What?!
Now, not only was I frustrated that my box was empty, but I was anxious to see what I gave up in exchange for my empty “gift.”
The enemy opened up the box he received from me.
It was a part of me. A part of my heart.
The vision came to an abrupt end.
What did this all mean?!
I’ve been pondering this for a few weeks and I think the meaning is clear now. Actually, to be clear, I think there are several meanings.
When we “deal with the enemy”, not only are we left empty handed but we give away a part of ourselves to the very person we never want to.
And….we’re left even more empty than we were before the “deal.” Remember, in my vision I cleared out room to make room for the bigger box….but now that I’m aware the box is empty….I’m left with an even bigger gaping whole inside of me.
This is a reminder of the frightening reality of the enemy’s deception.
With the enemy, it’s never an equal trade. In my vision I thought I was giving up a small gift in exchange for a larger gift.
I was deceived.
In reality, I was the one giving up the larger gift.
The lure of an impure thought in exchange for a moment of lustful pleasure.
“Oh don’t be silly. It’s only a thought! I’m not hurting anyone!” – we’ve all said. But what we don’t see is the gift exchange from hell occurring in the process.
Oh how I pray my eyes would be opened to the gift that keeps on taking.
May I see clearly the real gift exchange at hand.
Kathy n mike mikula
February 13, 2017 | 3:11 am
Excellant insight!
Karrson Koivisto
February 17, 2017 | 9:13 am
Fire. Thanks man.