A Devotion May Be Someone's Only Bible

View Blog Entry

The Battle With the Toad or Sin?

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Hebrews 12:1 NIV

Photo courtesy of morguefile and binks.A toad and I have been battling, and I’m not sure who is winning. It all started a few weeks ago when I watered my flower basket. It has a beautiful pink geranium and ivy plant spilling out of it. Something moved as I used my sprinkling can. I’m not sure who was more startled, me or the toad.

He hopped out of the basket, so I figured he’d given up and moved somewhere else. Nope. Next thing I knew, he dug deep into the scant soil in the basket, kicking some out on the sidewalk. I complained about the toad to my husband.

Next time I checked, the toad had left. I tapped the soil back in place and figured that was the end of my run-in with the amphibian. Not so. It returned a day later.

I thought I had out-smarted the toad the next day. Rain was predicted, so I moved the basket to the sidewalk instead of the porch so it would have a chance to be watered naturally. Toad was nowhere in sight until the next morning. I stepped outside for a walk and found him sitting where the basket used to be.

A few hours later, he was back again, buried in the soil. Sigh. I guess he’s determined to stay, I thought. 

One day, my toad had dug himself such a huge hole, I assumed he had left until I stood over top of the hole and got a better view. Nope. Still there.

Later, as I saw him stretching and sunning himself (in my basket), I couldn’t help but think about sin and how it so easily entangles us and keeps creeping back into our lives. Kind of like my toad. He keeps returning and digging himself deep into my flower arrangement.

Sin has a way of skulking back into our lives when we least expect it. If we don’t deal with it immediately, it has a tendency to burrow deeper until soon we become so accustomed to it we no longer notice it.

I want sin out of my life, and, of course, I wouldn’t mind being toad-free too. For now, he’s a reminder of my need to confess my sins to God continually.

Root out sin before it takes a grip on your life. Allow your heart to be clean before God.

(Photo courtesy of morguefile and binks.)

(For more devotions, visit us at www.christiandevotions.us)


Share This Blog:



Jodie Wolfe

Jodie Wolfe got bitten by the writing bug as a young girl after reading and watching Little House on the Prairie. She loves writing stories about feisty heroines and strong, godly heroes. The power of story to influence lives and change hearts is what motivates her to weave tales that tell of the Savior’s faithfulness and forgiveness. She writes a column for Home School Enrichment magazine and has received awards in contests. You can find her ponderings on her website, http://www.jodiewolfe.com.


Comments

  1. Jodi, I enjoyed your devotion about the toad Marie

  2. Your story of the toad gave me a smile. God draws us to Him everywhere we look, if only we look.

    1. I enjoyed your story. How true

    2. That's the key, isn't it, Judy. We need to look. :) Thanks for taking time to comment.