Robbed In Security (June Link 2008)

We’ve all been there...With increasing airport security measures and regulations, it seems each time I travel I am “re-educated” on the latest standards. My recent vacation was no exception.

With my departing flight for the trip, I was left completely amazed and speechless, as I cruised through both check-in and security in 20 minutes. So the morning of my return flight, I re-packed everything the same way, anticipating a hassle-free return. Check-in went smoothly once again, and I stepped up on the escalator heading toward security, sighing with relief that soon I would be seated at my gate.

Alas, my celebration was premature. As I went through security, my “re-education” came after first surviving the process of “stripping” to bear feet and removing my hat with embarrassment to reveal my rumpled hair. It was then that I was informed that even though my face cleanser fit into the specified zip-lock bag, the container itself exceeded the new ounce limit.

Needless to say, I was absolutely frustrated! The same zip-lock bag and cleanser had made it through security without so much as a raised eye-brow on my departing flight. I had specifically packed it as a carry-on item, so that if my suitcases were lost or arrived late, I’d at least be able to care for my skin.

Yet here they were, telling me that I would not be able to continue through security with it. I proceeded to discuss, with a bit too much “enthusiasm” in my voice, how my bag was already checked. The cleanser was not cheap and I was not about to throw it into the trash can. I was told my only option was to check it in my suitcase, if it hadn’t gone through security yet. Determination rose within me. So back down the escalator I headed, re-visiting the check-in counter and pleading with them to locate my suitcase so my cleanser wouldn’t be confiscated. They resisted initially. However, there is something to be said for prayer and persistence. Eventually, one of the ladies gave in and said she would go attempt to find my bag, even though “it’s against policy.” And finally, when I was just about to give up hope, she re-appeared with my bag in tow.

As we travel through life, isn’t it interesting the lengths the devil will go to in an attempt to steal our joy? I mean, here I was, rested and relaxed from a wonderful vacation, and he was trying to rob me of my delight on my first day back. What a sick pleasure! I actually pity a being who lives to ruin the lives of others. He is a thief who is never satisfied. Joy, peace, and meaning will always be out of his reach, so he strives to keep them out of ours.

Yet while I can pity his voidness, I refuse to keep silent about his attempted robbery. I will expose him for the crook he is!

What ways has he been attempting to steal your joy lately? What ways has he been trying to rob you of your peace? He will cleverly try to mask his schemes, leading us to apparent “security” and then snatching pieces of our hearts and minds when we least expect it.

In my own life, he tries to keep me unceasingly busy, urging me to believe that when I finally “catch up” in my “to do list” and projects, then I’ll be secure and at peace. However, when I step back and honestly look at this reasoning, I see that no matter how much time passes or how many things I get done, more things step up to fill the place of those I accomplish. Furthermore, I am young and single now–life will by no means get simpler once I’m married and have kids.

Thus, though it is a long process, I’m praying for God to enable me to reclaim the peace and joy the devil has stolen from my life through busyness. I’m praying for God to show me what things to let go of and how to spend my time day by day, so that I don’t put off truly living and enjoying the beauty of the moment, like a check I will one day cash in. I’m praying for Him to help me prioritize, and schedule in time for relaxation each day, not packing my schedule so full to the gills that it is whirlpool I struggle to breathe in. For there are no guarantees of the future. Each day is a gift.

Another way the devil tries to fool me is in the realm of beauty. This is one of his biggest conspiracies. All around the world and across the country he whispers lies to women that we don’t measure up in some way. He attacks from every angle–too fat or too skinny, too pale or too dark, too short or too tall, hair that’s too curly or too straight, wrinkles, blemishes, and the list could go on and on. Everywhere we turn there are pictures, magazines, or movies of air brushed, “perfected” beauties. He converges all of these avenues to convey a single message: “Beauty equals security and it is within your grasp.” We are flooded with an exhaustless list of how we can reach this–creams, lotions, new hairstyles or color, the latest fashions, diets and exercises, manicures, pedicures, waxing of every area imaginable, teeth whitening, tanning or tanning creams, facials, body wraps and peels, make-up for each feature of our face, and cosmetic surgeries of every kind.

I do not share these to condemn them–in fact I have tried and continue to access many of them. Yet I have found that in almost every case, the security I was aiming for never comes or is short lived, whether it was a new outfit, new lip gloss, or a fresh haircut and color. Just like in the airport, the devil portrays the illusion of “security,” while he confiscates our joy and peace. He presses in with a perpetual need for just a little bit more, or burdens and overwhelms with maintaining standards of beauty when we do achieve them. He himself is miserable and he is determined that we will share in his misery and restlessness.

Perhaps your resistence is strong in the area of beauty. If so, I guarantee he is attempting to make you feel inadequate in other areas of life. He makes hollow promises of security relating to enough money, enough knowledge, enough success at work and at home, enough friends, enough possessions, enough intimacy, and more. He will use any distraction to keep us so wrapped up in striving that we fail to notice him pick-pocketing us of our hearts and souls.

Additionally, he will send tragedies, illness, heartache and hardship our way. He is just that obsessed with stealing the fire in our eyes, the glow in our smile, and the warmth and life in our hearts. He never plays fair, attacking some of the most loving and caring people I know, while not laying a hand on the cruel.

I don’t hold an easy, light-switch formula in my hands for dealing with any of the devil’s conspiracies, whether it relates to busyness, beauty, measuring up, or heartache. Until his time is up, he will continue hounding us to hand over our “ounces” of joy and peace. But this hope I do cling to: the same God who cared enough to pull strings for me to be able to check my face cleanser at the airport, cares dimensions more about seeing to it that joy and peace stay within our possession! He can and will break the chains that bind us! He died, so that we might be restored. Friends, I believe with all my heart, that if we will keep coming to Him on a regular basis, asking Him to set us free and make us whole, He will do so! He’s promised to–“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” He declares, “I have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b). May He rescue your joy and peace. May He fill your life with true meaning and purpose. May He turn the devil’s attacks into illustrations and stories to share about His love, power and faithfulness. May He reminds us all that there is something to be said for prayer and persistence–persistence in seeking Him and leaving our lives and hearts in His hands.