“I love nothing more than writing about the work of the Holy Spirit in the eternal struggle.

So this piece from three years ago, reworked, seemed most appropriate for today.

The proverbial “they” often say even a monkey learns from his or her mistakes. And despite what others might choose to believe, I am smarter than a monkey.

Thus, after many years of knock down losing battles against the evil one followed by a lot of digging into the word of the Lord I long ago gave up the notion that I can handle Satan all by myself.

I’m ever learning to rely more and more on the Holy Spirit.

But He still has yet a lot of honing to do on me, especially in the areas of humility and my ever smoldering carnal urge to self-destruct.

“Dear gracious and heavenly Father, continue to let your Spirit be my light, my staff and my comfort on righteous paths past this insidious ruler of the air.”

That’s a regular petition of mine through Jesus.

Yet often – without warning – Mr. Macho Man springs up in me and next I’m running on my own steam, headlong, into darkness.

My recent exit from a long career in newspapering remains a prime example of all that I’m saying.

The craft, when I came to it some 37 years ago, seemed more about how a story was written rather than how it was disseminated. I was a big fan of that.

Today, however, it seems quite the opposite: Get the story out in some form or another regardless how it’s written seems the order of things. I don’t like that.

Yet stubbornly I tried to remain pushing the old ways in the new realm.

I’d even ignore clear urgings from the Holy Spirit, who would regularly tell me mainly through inner voices: “Hey come on, get out of this stuff. Go concentrate more on your work for the Lord. You’ll have a lot more time and you’ll have a lot more satisfaction.”

“I still have things I want to do in this worldly realm,” I’d tell myself even when I’d question “Why am I doing this – this is no fun anymore.”

Then on a bright morning when I felt as if I was pushing myself through the front door of the newspaper office, the folks who now run the place called me into a meeting.

The session was clearly orchestrated by the Spirit because before it was over, the bosses cut me a fine deal I couldn’t turn down.

I left the newspaper and never looked back. And today I feel 10 years younger.

Even a monkey wouldn’t forget the strong lessons gained from all that.

Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Ozzie Roberts

March 3, 2019