The monkey clung to her, weighing her down, making every task more difficult. She tried shaking it off, but it wouldn't let go. In the darkness of night it woke her suddenly, frightening her with its grip. She would lay very still, breathe as deeply as she could and pray for relief. She would recite in her head as many Bible verses as she could remember and utter the name of Jesus over and over until eventually the monkey let her sleep. But even in her dreams, it found a way of haunting her and each morning she pulled herself out of bed, already weary of the burden.
The weight of the monkey made her resistance low, causing her to say things she shouldn't to those she loved and when she realized what was happening, the monkey just laughed, "See, you messed it up again." It mocked her, pointing out her every flaw,whispering lies in her ear--"See, I told you you couldn't do it right" or "What you do doesn't matter" or "Nobody cares what you think."
When she quit listening to it, the monkey held onto her neck with one arm and used the other to wreak havoc in her house, taunting her with mishaps, breakdowns and illness to distract and stir up anxiety. It flashed dollar signs in her head to make her think of the temporary instead of the eternal.
The monkey hung tight, casting a shadow on her life, yet experience told her there was one solution. She found if she went about her business, if she plowed through to do what she was supposed to do, no matter how difficult it may be, the monkey grew tired too and would loosen its hold. Even if it took five times longer to finish the job, when she did, the monkey lost some strength. She knew if she kept pushing forward it may eventually give up.
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Hebrews 10:36-39
Are you fighting your monkey by pressing on?
Photo Credit: dboy
4 comments:
WOW - I have goosebumps - that is just an inspired piece because every word is so true - you have a wonderful gift Tami.
It's strange because I got in a conversation with that monkey this morning while staring in the mirror. It hit me that I was talking to it and so I have determined to place scripture around my mirror - I sometimes have the best conversations with people I'm upset with as I look in that mirror - thanks for revealing one of my monkeys. Now I am aware.
I seem to be fighting monkeys often these days. We must press on.
Those dang monkeys are choking me daily! For some reason I keep forgetting about them. Thanks for helping open my eyes!
This post is uncanny - I had a dream this week about a gorilla living in my house. It was wierd and I woke up wondering what it meant. In the dream, it seemed big and scary but at the same time I wasn't intimidated.
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