Stop me if you have heard this one before… you see a trailer or watch a publicity appearance for an upcoming movie that you are excited about, and in the course of about sixty seconds the entire plot of the movie and half of the cool surprises the movie contained are completely spoiled for you. “Teaser” trailers have become less of a taste of what a film has in store for us and more of a full meal, giving away their secrets like a classic movie villain who falls prey to their need to explain their entire evil plot to the one person in a position to stop them. We leave the experience feeling like we have a pretty good idea of who will win, who will lose, who will show up, and even what the “second act plot twist” will be. While I am no stranger to the importance of advertising and marketing products to support the largest possible audience for a movie, television show, video game, book, or any other form of consumable entertainment, I think we can all safely say that much of the mystery that exists in these media formats has moved from simply attracting fans with a slice of what they have in store for us to giving away the entire story.

But before I am too hasty in judging these companies, marketers, and publicists for doing their job, I have to reconcile another reality that I have found present in my own life more than I care to admit… I too have fallen pray to some “monologues” myself that have exposed some of the things to the wrong audience that should have been kept between me and the Lord. And if I give you a few examples, maybe you will find some of these in common as well. Have you ever caught yourself saying the words, “You know what I’m afraid of” to someone? Or perhaps share some personal information followed by sharing the knowledge that “if this happened, it would completely destroy me?” or “the only thing that will stop me from doing this is…”? While we might think we are simply having a conversation with a friend or a loved one about a personal concern or struggle we are dealing with, there is a sinister presence eavesdropping on these weaknesses we are exposing… and we just gave them the key to defeating us.

The tendency to give our enemy the most direct path to taking us out is certainly nothing new… over the years many of us have taken a turn at becoming the architects of our own demise, giving away our deepest fears and sharing our weaknesses with perhaps positive intentions but disastrous results. In my own life, I have made the mistake of giving my enemy the exact information that would destroy a relationship or pull me away from serving the Lord many times by speaking those words to a friend or trusted confidante… only to be faced with that exact combination of scenarios and attacks at a later time. And as I find myself reeling from what has occurred, I find myself feeling much like Job did when after he experienced an enemy attack like no other and he said, “The thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me”. In a moment of “sharing”, I exposed my deepest fears and vulnerabilities to more than simply my target audience… I gave my enemy the most direct path to shattering my world without even making them work for it.

Job 3:25 For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.

One of the saddest stories in all of Scripture is the fall of Samson, a man of exceptional physical power but very limited spiritual restraint. The climax of his story comes as we find him in the hands of Delilah… someone he had placed his trust in who was working for the other side. After years of waging war with the Philistines and being used by God to deliver his people, in a moment of weakness and frustration Samson exposed his only weakness to her… and within hours he found that his confidence had been misplaced. His head was shaved, his power removed, and the man who had withstood hundreds of soldiers single-handedly in combat was now over-powered in a living room… all because he gave away the plot to his story to an audience that couldn’t be trusted with it.

Judges 16:15-20 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

The Scriptures are clear that we have an active enemy in life (1 Peter 5:8) who seeks nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), but while the enemy of our soul is incredibly intelligent, they can’t read our minds. Our deepest concerns and fears are things that should be brought to the Lord in prayerful surrender so He can guide us through them (2 Corinthians 10:4-5), and when we open that door through casual conversation with others we are handing that key off to the very presence that has been trying to figure out the best way to break in, destroy us, and shipwreck our faith from day one.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Proverbs 10:19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 21:23 Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.

I wish I could take back the things I have said and shared that exposed my deepest fears and created the opportunity for them to be used against me, but unfortunately that isn’t possible. But in the stories of both Job and Samson we find that even after the enemy’s most brutal attacks, the faithfulness of the Lord was present to provide both restoration of their mission in the case of Samson (Judges 16:28-30) as well as what was lost in the case of Job (Job 42:12-13). And if we will yield our fears, concerns, and broken places to the Lord He will be faithful to not only restore them, but to rebuke the enemy and run them out of the space that we inadvertently gave them access to in the first place. Our words are more powerful than we realize, and they can and WILL be used against us by the enemy who is bent on destroying us. Let’s not make his job any easier by giving him the combination to the safe… let’s guard our words and give every concerning or fearful thought to the Lord in prayer… He is the only one who can help us overcome them.

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