Guard your weaknesses

A story is told of the life of Raynald III, a fourteenth-century duke in what is now Belgium. Grossly overweight, Raynald was commonly called by his Latin nickname, Crassus, which means "fat."

After a violent quarrel, Raynald's younger brother Edward led a successful revolt against him. Edward captured Raynald but did not kill him. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk castle and promised him he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room.

This would not have been difficult for most people since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, and none was locked or barred. The problem was Raynald's size. To regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight. But Edward knew his older brother, and each day he sent a variety of delicious foods. Instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter.

When Edward was accused of cruelty, he had a ready answer: "My brother is no prisoner, he may leave when he so wills." Raynald stayed in this room for 10 years and was not released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined that he died within a year - a prisoner of his own appetite.

What is the name of the room that has you trapped today?

Just as Edward tempted Raynald with his weakness, so the devil targets our weaknesses when tempting us. There are three realms of temptation—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. In Luke 4:3, we see Satan tempting with the lust of the flesh, “And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.” Christ had been fasting and his flesh or his physical being was hungry.

Source: Daily in the Word, June 19, 2008