Daily Encouragement For January 22:

Once there was this wealthy young man, he lived in a great, elaborate house
with dozens of rooms. Each room was more comfortable and more beautiful
than the one before it. There were paintings and sculptures, crystal chandeliers,
golden, ornate railings on the stairs. More beauty than most have ever seen.
One day he decided to invite Jesus to come home and stay with him. The Lord
accepted and when He arrived, the young man offered him the very best room
in the house.

The room was upstairs and at the end of the hall. "This room is yours, Jesus! Stay
as long as you like and you can do whatever you want to in this room, remember
Jesus, its all yours." He walked away and closed the door.

That evening after he had retired for the night there came a loud knocking at the
front door. The young man made his way downstairs and when he opened the
door he found that the devil had sent three of his demons to attack the man. He
quickly tried to close the door but one of the demons kept sticking his foot in.
Sometime later, after a great struggle, he managed to slam the door shut and
returned to his room totally exhausted.

Can you believe that," the man thought. Jesus is upstairs in my very best room
asleep while I am down here battling these demons. Oh, well, maybe he just
didn't hear. He slept fitfully that night. The next day things went along as normal
and, being tired as he was, the young man retired early that evening. Later that
night he heard a terrible ruckus at the front door, the young man was sure that
whatever it was would tear the door down. He stumbled down the stairs once
again and opened the door to find that this time there were dozens of demons
trying to get into his beautiful home.

For more than three hours he fought and struggled against the demons from hell,
and finally overtook them enough to shut the door against their attack. All energy
seemed to fail him. He really didn't understand this at all. Why won't the Lord
come to my rescue? Why does he allow me to fight all by myself? I feel so alone.
Troubled, he found his way to the sofa and fell into a restless sleep.

The next morning he decided to ask Jesus about the happenings of the last two
evenings. Quietly he made his way to the elegant bedroom where he had left Jesus.
"Jesus," he called as he tapped at the door. "Lord, I don't understand what is happening.
For the last two nights I have had to fight the demons away from my door while You
laid up here sleeping. Don't You care about me? Did I not give You the very best room
in the house?"

The young man opened the door, he could see the tears building in Jesus' eyes, but
continued on, "I just don't understand, I really thought that once I invited You in to
live with me that You would take care of me, I gave you the best room in my house
and everything. What more can I do?"

“My precious child," Jesus spoke so softly. "I do love and care for you. I will protect
all that you have released into my care. But, when you invited me to come here and
stay, you brought me to this lovely room and you shut the door to the rest of your
house. I am Lord of this room, but I am not the Master of this house. I have protected
this room and no demon may enter here, but unless you invite me into your home I
cannot protect the rest of it."

The young man began to cry, "Oh, Lord, please forgive me. Take all of my house, it
is yours. I am so sorry that I never offered you all to begin with. I want you to have
control of everything." He knelt at Jesus' feet. "Please forgive me Lord for being so selfish."
Jesus smiled and told him that He had already forgiven him and that He would take care
of things from now on.

That night as the young man prepared for bed he thought, I wonder if those demons will
return, I am so tired of fighting them each and every night. But, he knew that Jesus said
that he would take care of things from now on. Then about midnight there was a banging
on the door, it was so frightening. The young man slipped out of his room in time to see
Jesus going down the stairs. He watched in awe as Jesus swung open the door, no need
to be afraid. This time it was Satan himself, demanding to be let in. "What do you want,
Satan?" Jesus exclaimed. Satan bowed low in the presence of the Lord, "So sorry, I seem
to have gotten the wrong address." And with that, he and the demons all ran away.

There is a moral to this story. Jesus wants all of you, not just a part of you. He will take
all that you give Him, but nothing more. How much of your heart have you given to
Jesus? Are you keeping a portion of it away from Him? Perhaps the devil's attacks are
coming more and more each day. Why not let the Lord fight the battles for you? He is
always victorious. God gave us a simple plan, let me be Lord of your life and I will
never leave nor forsake you.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” -Revelation 3:20.