Year of Realization - Day 58: Don’t get duped into advancing the enemy’s plan.

“Then the king jumped to his feet in a rage and went out into the palace garden. Haman, however, stayed behind to plead for his life with Queen Esther, for he knew that the king intended to kill him.”

‭‭Esther‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Every day we hear of horrible things happening all over the world. But there’s something about hearing horrible stories on the local news that strikes a different, more haunting, chord. You see, as long as we can distance ourselves from the bad things that are going on, we are able—on some level—to think that that kind of thing only happens to other people.

Make no mistake, there’s some (temporary) comfort in denial. But, when you hear a horrible thing has happened to someone you know, you begin to feel more vulnerable, but still may search to find some reason why this would never happen to you. Sadly, there are individuals into whom’s life has come the horrible reality of evil, up close and personal. For these people, denial is no longer an option.

Let’s look, for example, at the concept of being “duped”: someone tricks you into doing something, whether it’s sending money to a scoundrel or finding yourself driving a getaway car for a crime.

To that latter point: many years ago I was one of the pastors over a young woman who found herself in just such a situation. She drove two or three of her friends to a department store and waited in the car as they promised they would be right in and right out. Well, she found out the hard way that she was actually the lookout and the getaway driver. Now that’ll leave a mark.

I’ve also known people who very nearly lost thousands, believing some trumped up story about a family member who was in trouble. Things like that make you feel so vulnerable and stupid. But the fact is, evil works by deceit.

Think of the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson’s arrogance kept him from seeing that he was being played by Delilah; and he paid dearly for it.

Perhaps you have been duped, and you know the terrible pain in the pit of your stomach that comes with that harsh realization. And that brings us to our opening scripture.

Today we see that the harsh reality has hit the king that his right hand man—perhaps his best friend—has duped him into condemning his beloved Esther’s people!

Now, we don’t know for sure what went through his mind at this point; but he is clearly jolted as he retreats into the garden, as if to gather himself.

We are living in troubled times. And, deceit will only get worse. It is important that we allow the Holy Spirit to keep us watchful so that we do not become a “useful idiot” for some evil plan.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#yearofrealization