The Lure of Magic, Part II

In the first article about the lure of magic, I described how I wanted magic because of longings to change my circumstances and myself. I was unhappy as a child and wanted relief from missing my mom when I had to live with my dad and submit to the authority of a stranger as my ‘new mom.’ Until the day that I refused, my siblings and I had been forced to kiss her goodnight before going to bed when there hadn’t been any love between us.

I also didn’t know God at this point. It hadn’t occurred to me to seek God for comfort or for His help. Even if I had a relationship with God at this age, I probably would not have sought His help. I say this because there have been times when I was Christian and still struggled to believe that He loved me enough to help me. After all, if He really loved me, would He have allowed certain situations in my life to begin with?

Yes. It is the authenticity of His love that allows us to make decisions. Without God in our lives, we make decisions that hurt others to make our lives better, to make ourselves feel better, and to impose a reality on others that isn’t true. Our sin is real and the consequences of our sin to ourselves and to others are also very real. Whether we consciously want to or not, as inherently needy and selfish people, we cause pain to others.

Instead of controlling us to stop sin, God showed His love (and great mercy) to every human being by allowing his Son, Jesus, to endure the pain of our sin. The Bible says that it is by His wounds that we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). What does this mean? Because Jesus suffered the consequences of every conceivable sin, including momentary separation from God causing Jesus to cry out – My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46) – we have access to healing from every conceivable sin.

I know that many people, especially our precious children all over the world, suffer the devastation of sexual exploitation and extreme emotional and mental abuse. It can be easy to believe that God is not strong enough to protect, or He is not willing to act. The powerless must find a means to power and turning to witchcraft is one of those means.

Believe that God loves you and has provided a way, through Jesus, to be saved, healed, and set free. The nature of our pain and sin is to turn to anything and everything but God in our times of need, but in the end, only God can set us free. The good news is – He longs to help us and even admonishes us to ask Him (Matthew 7: 9-11). He is jealous to have a relationship with us. He wants to fill us with love and give us His power (2 Timothy 1:7).

What do you think about having a relationship with the Most High God?