Rewinding Life's Events

I have "Herrinisms". It's the saying or doing of things for which I am immediately sorrowful. Sometimes while I'm doing, I'm feeling bad about it! The feeling associated with Herrinisms is "I just screwed up, and I feel the acids in my stomach telling me so!"  I'm not unlike anyone else. You all have "Yournameisms"!

When a Herrinism occurs, normally I'm on a teeter-totter. The new Herrin is on one end and the old Herrin on the other. I'm not tottering with myself. There is an invisible being on the board with me. He can't be seen, is virtually without mass, but he's there. He has enough weight to effect the totter board!

Most of the time new Herrin is collected. He has read scripture that day, pondered God's word and prayed. Because the new Herrin is walking with God, that invisible presence jumps off that teeter-totter and goes to another board where conditions are not so unfavorable for him. He can play with Herrin another day when Herrin is occupied on himself!

James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Herrinisms occur when I am fooled into thinking how righteous I am, but I haven't truly submitted to God. Yes, that varies from day-to-day. Even after praying through, Herrin has strongholds which he fails to submit.

 2 Corinthians 10:3 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ..."

If we look at the military, a stronghold is where the soldiers are behind earthen-works or in a trench. They just won't give up this position as long as they're dug in. That's the way our own strongholds are. It's a sin or sins which we just won't submit to God because we're so entrenched that we just won't give it up! I know... we're talking about playground analogies, but trust me, adults play war with dangerous forces as well. There is another army out there, and we must fight to win.

 Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

We are in a war. We shoot from the trench, but if we don't let go of what we're holding onto, a fight with strong resistance, we fight in vain.

Likewise, the force on that teeter-totter is not flesh and blood. He is a powerful spirit who fights in the devil's brigade. He laughs as he moves toward the old Herrin and says "Remember the pleasure!" That is just enough weight to make the board teeter toward sin. When the powers are not resisted, the old Herrin does wrong. While he's teetering there is a dilemma.  "Is this pleasure worth the guilt and consequences?" The new Herrin want's to flee. The old Herrin looks back, as did Lots' wife, and longs for just a little more pleasure. When submission is made to pleasure, the moment the wrong decision is made is a Herrinism. The instant a new Herrin fails God, sorrow kicks in! Herrin feels sick because his stronghold wasn't submitted.

Have you ever missed a scene in a movie and want to go back and view it over? All we have to do, is rewind. The one thing that we all must remember, is that there is no rewind on life. Herrinims can't be rewound! No matter how hard we try to make things as they were before, things just can't be undone!

When we do things which are against God we can't go back and change that. When we do things bad against others, it's too late! God forgives the Herrinism, but the Herrinism is still there. When God forgives your sin, the affects of the sin are still there.

King David did a Davidism.  Not one, but many, because one Davidism leads to another. He was tempted and allowed the unseen forces move toward the old David on the teeter-totter. That temptation had just enough weight to pull David down toward unrighteousness. Then when David consummated his desire, he coveted. When he coveted the teeter-totter was weighted again. He murdered. Davidisms compound themselves because of those invisible powers on that teeter board. Yournameisms do that  too!

All is not lost. David could never rewind and make it as it never happened, but in God's eyes, the scene/sin can be rewound. His forgiveness is nearly as if David never did it! I say "nearly" because there are consequences to Davidisms. There are consequences to Herrinisms and Yournameisms. David's son died because of his grievous sins, even though Psalm 51 is all about David's sorrow and repentance!

Herrinisms can never be rewound, but the quality can be adjusted. The new Herrin can move on that teeter-totter. Perhaps Herrin can add weight so that the board balances more favorably for himself and God! Yes, Herrin, you can put on some armor:

Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

This armor carries so much weight that the devil gives up. He flees and the teeter-totter no longer teeters. How it teetered before doesn't change. That can't be undone, but with this heavy armor, it won't happen again! What is the armor? "Your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, taking the shield of faith, take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; and praying always"!!

I believe that's enough weight to make the devil get off that teeter-totter. Why waste his time when the new Herrin has on so much weight in the armor of God?

Herrinisms stink! The minute Herrin gives in and submits to the devil, the Holy Spirit opens that check valve. Guilt comes on Herrin because he knows better and the Spirit is still in him. That's a hedge God puts around Christians to help overcome the devil and to crawl away from those strongholds. Guilt kicks in at the minute one is tempted. The instant that those powers move toward the old Herrin on the teeter board guilt begins to happen.Guilt continues even when the old Herrin makes room for the invisible power on his end of the board. He remembers the pleasure, feels guilty about it, then makes the decision: I think I'll do that just one more time. God will forgive me! Thinking like that is irrational and dangerous. God can forgive any sin, but we need to be careful, for our sorrow may not truly be sincere!

Right now I think of hundreds of things I'd like to rewind. They can't be! However, I can change the end of the movie! Yes, there are multiple endings and I can choose the one I want the most. For me, I choose forgiveness. That's a happy ending with hope. My ending which I choose is Psalm  51. God finds that pleasing too!