Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Ephesians 4:31-32

I didn’t really notice at first…  Our website seemed fine, but just underneath the surface malware was beginning to clog our bandwidth.  I was still able to maintain the site – update podcast, change a banner or two, switch out YouTube hyperlinks – but one day nothing would work.  And then the reCAPTCHA’s started.

Every time I would try and log in to our website, I would get hit with one of these.  “Select all the crosswalks, look for all the bicycles, highlight the invisible monkeys.”  (I made the last one up, but some of these are crazy.)  Nothing I did on my own could fix the problem.  The website was operating at a crawl, and something had to be done.

Paul says get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger.  I would throw unforgiveness in there too.  It’s hard to forgive when someone has done the unforgivable, and it’s easier to hold a grudge than to extend a hand in friendship.  The Lord calls me to forgive and let go…  He calls us to forgive and let go… and I think I know why.

When we harbor anger, bitterness, and rage the Lord still hears our prayers, but we must complete a reCAPTCHA.  There are things in our heart that are bogging down our system.  And just like the malware in the website, some of our bitterness is buried so deep we aren’t even aware of it.  We’re running at half speed in the Lord, but we’ve grown accustomed to the pace.

In the end, the only way to fix the website was to reach out to the hosting partner.  It’s funny that their name is TruePath (and you can bet there is a play on words coming quick).  There is one True Path to redemption, forgiveness, and compassion.  You cannot take care of the malware on your own.  You try and fix it, but you just keep hitting roadblocks (reCAPTCHA’s).

There is a better way, but it won’t be easy.  “Let go and let God” sounds trivial but it’s the best explanation for it.  Let go of anger, bitterness, malice, unforgiveness… and let God take what you weren’t meant to carry.

When you get rid of malware you better have a plan in place to hold it at bay, because there will always be new threats to your system.  Stay rooted in the Lord through Bible study, prayer, and worship.  Don’t let little things become big things.  Extend grace – to yourself and to others. 

The Lord is our True Path to a beautiful life.  There is beauty in the mess.  There is peace in the chaos.  There is hope in the desert.  Jesus is not finished with you.  Check in with Him today.

May hope abound in our hearts.
Soli Deo Gloria!
F –