“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Eph. 4:1-3
Today’s Christian daily devotional
I close my eyes as I feel the music pulsating through my body. My legs twirl gracefully around the cool metal pole as I whisk my limbs and propel my body into motion. The more I move, the less conscious I am of the eyes that are searing through me. The lack of inertia stops my smooth flow. I have a moment to catch the hungry eyes that are drinking in every morsel that my body seems to feeds them.
The repulsion in the pit of my stomach grows; disgust surges through my veins. I am aware of the power that I have over this flesh hungry audience, and I begin to relish in the pain I bring upon all who look at me. None of them seem to have any power to tear their eyes away. They don’t have control, I do. I kick the wad of cash at my feet down to the end of the stage with my stiletto.
The music starts to fade as the next song is artfully weaved in by the DJ. “That was Skye. Show her your appreciation and make sure you get a dance before you leave.” My power shrinks the more he drones on with his “advertisement”. As I swoop my tips that are pilled at the end of the stage, my spot is quickly filled by a robust coworker. The insatiable eyes of lust are now averted onto the latest attraction.
It was good to relish in the power, but it was also nice to have a break as well. “Skye.” I repeat my own name back to myself. I picked it because it made me think of the sky—a symbol of endless freedom pillowed by clouds and a world that was above the ugly and dark world that I called home. The irony was that I worked so many nights in a row, recalling actual daylight was hard for me.
The nights seemed to blend together like an endless bad dream–a dream that kept repeating itself. Of course each night had a different set of characters but the same air of hopelessness hung like a heavy blanket over me. My life felt like anything BUT freedom.
Tucking the money in my garter, I headed toward the back of the room. The back wall by the fire escape was a safe-haven for us girls who needed respite. For some it was a cigarette, for others it was a bit of gossip, for girls like me it was isolation. We all found our way to that back wall at some point in the night. It got our minds off the misery of the moment.
As I read Eph. 4:1-3 It is apparent to me that you can be a slave for good things as well as you can for the bad. When I walked away from the nightmare of my life, it was beyond hard to step away from everything I knew into the abyss of the unknown. But, I was so tired of being a prisoner of men’s fantasies, my soiled reputation and my non-existent self-esteem.
The day I asked Jesus into my heart I became a child of God. I decided to take the instructions of the Bible seriously. When I saw this verse I interpreted it literally. My life, up until that point, was fashioned around everything BUT meekness, long-suffering and love. My world was filled with the exact opposite—pride, instant gratification and lust. I was ready for a change and that meant I had to take the risk and be ready to believe the promises that God could change me. But, I also knew that I needed to be a willing partner in those changes. Are you happy today? Ask God to help you to trust in His goodness. He will.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
The world can be a hopeless and ugly place. There are so many predators out there. I don’t want to become a blind fool. Many say that if I believe in you and your word that is exactly what will happen. I know that my personal experience with certain individuals is not how I should judge all of humanity.
Help heal the damage that has been done to my heart. As painful as my past has been, help me to trust the instincts that you gave me. Something in my heart wants to trust in the goodness of you, God. Help me to take that leap into complete trust in you. In Jesus’ precious name, heal every broken part of me that is holding back from receiving all the goodness you want to bestow upon me. I receive it, Amen.”
Thank you for reading today’s daily devotional.
Please check back and see what we have for you tomorrow!
Author: Julia Shalom Jordan