The Haunting Spectre

I am haunted by a spectre of unrest. It touches the shadows around me but eludes the slimest grapple at its breadth. It eases back into the recesses of my soul and nags at the slightest crisis of life. In solitude, it appears to creep closer as a timid creature of the wild, revealing its full extent. It is elusive and complex, like a wisp in the Wind. The Wind, revealing its exterior brings it closer; the Wind does its proving work.

Sometimes its downed (consumed) by the loudness of life; the hurried pace screams for attention, haranguing the spectre. It is like this, the spectre wants to tarry....it must have its space. It needs to have its own existence, but it fights for both its need to survive by resigning, and its hunger to haunt its hunter; it is embroiled in battle.

I strolled through my neighborhood the other evening, and to my delight I saw a small fox. There, the furtive little creature was elusively darting through the shadows like my spectre of unrest, looking for its quest but not wanting the full measure of attention.

This spectre of unrest is much like the fox. He must forage for existence. It must continually be fed. Its privation though, is manifested by the Wind. "He will reprove the world of Sin..." John 16. The spectre of unrest is rightly bludgeoned by the Holy Spirit's illumination. C. S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasure, but screams at us in our pain". But we push back....we numb it with generous amounts of chloroform in the fashion of pastime or labor. We must allow the Wind its due, to bring the scapel to bear on the spectre of unrest. It must be in this fashion. The pervasive aura of unconfessed sin.

The Psalmist said, Blessed [is] the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit [there is] no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Psalms 32: 1-4. Here it is; the chronic malignancy that unconfessed sin renders. Notice here the language, the physical results of unconfessed sin, the ailment when "one keeps silent"; "bones grow old"; that is they waste away". The hand of God's chastisement upon the wayward, who carry the palpable pain and the physical torture of unconfessed sins. This is a heavy burden.......this is a spectre of unrest. But notice the solution David describes. In verse 5, observe: I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

God's Word tell us that confession will rid us of the spectre. I John 1:9 states, "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to fogive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness". Friend, today you may be suffering from anxiety or depression, or even some physical ailment. You may not understand why your prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling. God may not hear your prayers due to your lack of a clean heart before Him. Sin sent Christ to the cross and it will keep you from a victorious life; it will rob your joy and it will destroy your life. Praise be to God for His solution; his restoration. Praise the Lord for I John 1:9! Confess and repent today. Now that is good news!