Luke 15:17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, `How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!’”
As a pastor, I do fully know, understand, and acknowledge that there truly is a devil. Without a shadow of doubt and in every fiber of my being, I can tell you that he does exist, he is real, and he is out to throw you off course!
However, one thing I’m not in favor of is blaming him for everything that goes bad in our lives. Sometimes, and the truth just has to be the truth, it’s merely our fault, and our actions quite often dictate the outcome – – – not the devil. Here’s why I’m sharing this with you.
Our text comes from a very familiar passage of scripture that we refer to as “The Prodigal Son.” Now to play catch-up, this son asked his father for his (the son’s) share of the father’s estate. In other, words, the son said, “Dad, give me everything I’m going to get when you die – – – RIGHT NOW!” And the father did.
The son then went off and blew his money living “La Vida Loca,” the crazy life, throwing a few parties and doing all sorts of things “the young and the restless” do. But all in all, his actions were his actions. At no time in this parable is the devil mentioned, yet we still see the detrimental outcome of actions that are contrary to God’s word and way…….A Lifestyle below the “abundant life” that Jesus speaks of in John 10:10.
However, in this story, hope for the “prodigal son” springs forth as something neither spectacular nor supernatural occurs. The 17th verse of Luke tells us this about the young man: “But when he came to his senses.” Stop right there!!! He merely came to his senses! There was no laying of hands, there was no rebuking the devil, and there was no anointing of oil! Now, I have no problem with any of these practices, and sometimes they are necessary, but many times they are not! Because most of the time, it isn’t the devil that’s keeping us where we are; it’s just a decision, and I’m here to tell you, YOU’RE JUST ONE DECISION AWAY FROM CHANGE!!! I hope you caught that…..
Yes Beloved, the devil is out to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10), but “you’ve” got to decide to get up out your mess and mayhem! You’ve got to decide to get up out of your controversy and crap! You’ve got to decide to leave the drama and desolation!! And all you need to do is use two things God has already blessed you with.
The first is “GOOD SENSE.” This is that God-given instinct that keeps telling you, “You’re living far below where you should be.” God didn’t create you to be a whipping post; instead, He made you to be a warrior and a winner in the game of life. The second… Once you realize you’re living far from where you should, you should use your God-given ability to “GET UP” from where you are and go live where you should! You see, after coming to himself, the prodigal son merely got up and went to the place of abundance and peace! The angels didn’t carry him there. That “Sweet Chariot” didn’t swing low to get him either. He just got up and headed to the place that was better.
I encourage you to see that regardless of the decisions that you’ve made and the place or places you’ve landed, there is still hope because God has empowered you to make a decision that will bring change to your life— today!
Pastor Yon
