Getting a computer virus is like...

Computer virus....ugh.

You know, you hear about these things happening to "other people" and then it happens. And no amount of pushing the escape button will undo it. And you have a sinking hole in the bottom of your stomach, way down in those organs you didn't even know were there.

And after a few choice words, the damage is done.
And ugly things begin to appear.
Really ugly.

And after a few unsuccessful experiments, you realize you are helpless. And finally, you cry out for help. You realize you can't do this on your own. You're ready to do whatever it takes to make the ugly go away, and make it good again. You need help. Plain and simple.

What you need is a savior.
So you call him.

And then the rebuilding begins. It's not an easy process. It takes work. Sometimes you need an expert to help you figure out the next step. Someone who knows the right path. Someone who's dealt with this kind of ugliness before. Someone who will guide you in the right direction. You learn things you had NO IDEA you'd ever need or want to know. You find out what "starting over" really means.

But yet, there is a silver lining to starting over, and now there is a clean slate. You take a deep breath, and turn over a new leaf. "No more irresponsible clicking" you declare. This time you'll be more careful, deliberate, intentional about your actions. You start loading in specific programs that work much better now. All the old "junk" is gone. There's a better protection plan. And things are running much more efficiently now.

Oh there's still issues. It's not actually perfect, even after starting over. And you have to learn as you go along, stumbling through and slowly learning a new way of doing things. But soon you realize the new way is much better, faster, easier. And you have access to a "support team" now that you didn't have before. And there's some pretty cool features now!

But you would have missed it all if you had stayed in the old ways. And you might even have kept inadvertently digging up the ugly stuff. Ugh, you don't want to go back there again.

Have you been catching the hidden message? (Ok stay with me on this one....)

Getting a computer virus is like...life without Jesus. You have that sinking hole inside, and no amount of escaping is going to make it go away. And there are some really ugly things in your life. But you don't know how to make them go away. They just keep popping up. Right there in front of you. And you might experiment with a few things to try and fill that sinking hole, but nothing really works. You can't do this on your own. You need help.

What you need is a Savior.

When you cry out to Him, He will come! In fact, He's always been there, waiting for you to ask for help. He gives you a clean slate, no matter what kind of ugly you had before. It's gone. All of it.

And now He's given you a much better "virus protection" and this time, it doesn't let that ugly stuff in. He helps you rebuild. Start over. Clean. He helps you get rid of your "junk" and have a more efficient operating system. It's still not an easy process. In fact, it takes a lot of work. And you still have to learn as you go along, just stumbling through sometimes. But He is the "support team", along with all the other people who have already recognized their need for Him. He is the One you can turn to when the ugly tries to come back.

But this time.....you aren't going to let it in.
Now that's some pretty cool features.

~Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior. Psalm 38:22 ~