Recognizing the Thief

Written by Brooke Miller
FHF Regional Director in Southern California
brooke@finallyhomefoundation.net

When I was a teenager, I went to visit my Dad on his construction-site, which was also our soon-to-be-home, so I knew it well. “Dad, Daaaad”, I called out. But to my surprise was met with silence. The door was open and unlocked, but Dad wasn’t answering back.

Perplexed, I walked back to our temporary home down the street. I found out later that the construction-site had been robbed during lunch-time. I had been there during lunch-time. The open door. No answer. I started to put the pieces together.

My Dad hugged me just a bit tighter, as he realized that I was probably in the home at the same time as the thieves. Or just after. Chills ran down my spine at the thought.

Thankfully, that’s the closest I’ve ever come to a home robbery. At least to my knowledge. I was too young to be involved in inventorying any of the stolen equipment, and there really wasn’t anything I could tell the police that was of any help. There really weren’t any clues to who the thief was.

But I’ll tell you one thing that didn’t happen. No one wondered whether there was a thief. No one scratched their heads and wondered “what happened to all of our tools?” It was clear that someone had taken them, since construction equipment isn’t prone to mere disappearance.

No one wondered IF there had been a thief, just wondered WHO the thief was.

Can you imagine if you called the cops to your house and said “Gosh, I just don’t know how all this stuff disappeared”? That would sound crazy. They’d be looking for a thief.

But sometimes I think we do this in our internal world. On days where we feel tired or alone or hurt or angry or “robbed of joy”, we often ignore that there’s a thief. We forget that we were told that there is an enemy who comes to “steal kill and destroy”, and to rob us from having an abundant life.

There may be days where it feels like the thief got away with something – you may even now be facing a moment where it feels like joy has been stolen. In those moments, remember that joy and love and faith and hope don’t “just disappear”, much in the same way that hammers and skilsaws don’t. But they can be stolen, and in those moments its important to identify the thief and call in re-enforcements to pray over your robbed heart. Call a friend or your spouse or another adoptive parent who can join you in praying for protection from the thief, and for restoration of anything he tries to take.