Movement caught my eye among the sticks and leaves nestled high up in the crook of our large Linden tree. Squirrels had built the nest, and I expected to see a black bushy tail twitching about. One emerged, but it had white stripes on it. Confused, I blinked several times.

“I think that’s a raccoon!” I told my husband.

Sure enough, a black-masked face peered down inquisitively, followed by three small ones. Trash bandits had invaded the squirrel’s nest!

In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus talks about an unclean spirit cast out of someone. Wandering aimlessly and unable to find rest, the spirit returns to find the house empty, clean and put in order. It then goes and finds seven other demons more wicked than it and indwells the person again. The person ends up worse off than before.

It isn’t enough to clean yourself up with your own strength or empty yourself of evil thoughts and desires. Unless you fill your heart, soul and mind with something greater than what the world and the enemy offer, we will fall back into deeper, darker territory. Either the same temptation or something worse sinks its claws deeper into us and sucks us farther from God’s truth and light.

Those raccoons invaded that squirrel nest, filled it to the edges, and created an increased threat to our home. Likewise, if we clean house without filling it with the Light of the World, we will end up in a worse state.

If we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, He sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in our house. The Enemy can no longer claim to own it. We belong to God.

When we realized a family of raccoons had set up residence near our home, we knew we had to get them to move. Raccoons can be destructive. We tried nudging the nest with a long pole from the ground, but they just huddled closer together. My husband then climbed onto our roof and sprayed them with the hose to encourage them to vacate. The young ones squeaked a bit but just hunkered down again like it was a heavy rainfall.

My husband finally rigged a long pole with a scoop on the end, and from the roof, disrupted the nest. Momma raccoon and her family of three ran farther up the tree and looked down at us offendedly as my husband demolished the nest. Part of me felt sorry for the critters, but I knew if we didn’t force them to move, they might get into our garbage, or worse, our attic, and rip our house apart. The next day, the raccoons were gone to find a safer nest, and we had a safer home.

Our house belongs to God, but it is our duty to be mindful housekeepers. The Lord instructs us to be diligent in our intentions and the condition of our hearts and minds. In our distractions, have we allowed any invaders to slip in undetected, lurking in the corners of our hearts and minds? They may look cute and harmless, but they want to destroy our pursuit of holiness. Upon finding them, we need to deal with them swiftly and ruthlessly. It is also vital to be careful not to let others in to lead us astray with false truth, and lies.

We do this by saturating ourselves in God’s Word, bathing ourselves in songs of praise to Him, and soaking in His presence through prayer. Surrounding ourselves with a godly, Bible-believing community and friends also helps us to fill our hearts, minds, and souls with the truth. Then our ‘homes’ stay full of light instead of darkness.

Guard your heart above all else,
For it determines the course of your life.

Proverbs 4:23 NLT

Sisters, some of the invaders in our hearts and minds may seem cute and harmless but they are intent on destroying our homes and souls, and luring us away from the holy life that honours our Lord. Maybe it’s what you are reading, watching or listening to. Perhaps it’s the worldly company you are spending too much time with. Are certain habits that seem harmless, distracting you from time with God or drawing you closer to a slippery slope? The Enemy is sly and seductive.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Keep up the good fight, Sisters!

Be well!

Patricia