I’m going to share with you something that you may be oblivious to – you have an enemy, one who passionately hates you. One whose sole purpose is making sure that you never find out the truth of how and why you were created. One who never wants you to find out how loved you are by the one this enemy hates most – and that’s God.
The world we live in is not the environment that originally was created for us to reside. Need a visual? Think of putting a saltwater fish in a pond or a lake – not the environment they were created to dwell. When I researched on Google what would happen, this is what I found:
“A fish that lives in salt water will have somewhat salty water inside itself. Put it in the freshwater, and the freshwater will, through osmosis, enter the fish, causing its cells to swell, and the fish will die.”
When God spoke to Adam in the Garden of Eden, giving him ONE rule, this is what God said in Genesis 2:16-17:
“And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they sinned. They were removed from the environment that God had created them to flourish and to live and placed in an environment that just like that saltwater fish shown above – they began the dying process. The creation that was originally meant to live forever slowly began to die. And the sin of Adam and Eve (just as in genetics) is one that has been carried down to their offspring from generation to generation. And that includes right down to us.
Let me tell you something you may be oblivious to – you have an enemy, someone who hates the very sight of you. Why? Because you were created in the image of the One he hates most of all – God. He has made it his very ambition to take you down and he’s REALLY good at it. You may not ever have heard of him or (his best trick yet) made to think that he doesn’t exist (he does) and the Bible tells us in John 10:10:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
All through your life, this unseen enemy has wreaked havoc on your life. You may feel as though your life has been going fine. That you don’t feel as though you have been living unaware of a powerful enemy, but that is because one of the names he is called is “Deceiver” 2nd Corinthians 4:4 tells us:
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
And Ephesians 6:12 tells us:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Does this anger you? If not, it should. Listen, I’m going to speak truth to you and pray that Holy Spirit removes the blinders that the enemy has covered over the eyes of those who do not know this… Who do not receive this… Who do not believe this… As much as the devil HATES you and is determined to keep you unaware of this truth; God the Creator, LOVES you. He loves you! And here is the GOOD news! HE is GREATER than the one who hates you! God loves you so very much that He left the glories of Heaven, came down to the earth, cloaked Himself with human skin, His name is Jesus, (He was born of the virgin Mary), walked amongst us living a sinless life. He took upon Himself the sins of the world (your sins and mine) and died a death on the cross for forgiveness of our sins to right our wrongs and bring us into a right relationship with Him. He rose from the dead and defeated death. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding on your (our behalf) and He is going to come again.
One of the enemies BIGGEST tricks is to keep you so busy that you put prayer and the reading of His Word (the Bible) on the back burner. This is the equivalent of starving your spirit. WE NEED GOD. WE NEED THE WORD OF GOD. It is sustenance to our souls. When we neglect our time with Him, we become weak. We become discouraged, we become depressed. We are more susceptible to discouragement, depression, sadness, worry, sickness. The enemy is able to flood the battlefield of our minds with negative thoughts. This is why it is so crucial to give God the first part of our day! We brush our teeth, wash our face and brush our hair every day (at least we should ;)) – we need to get in the habit of making sure we are prayed up mighty-much and that we put on our spiritual armor as spoken about in Ephesians 6 as soon as our feet hit the floor! I KNOW we get tired, but we have an enemy who is relentless and he wants to take us down! But 1 John 4:4 says:
“Greater is He that is in me than he that is within the world.”
Although everything around us may indicate otherwise – we HAVE to choose whose report we are going to believe! What is GOD saying? What are YOU believing? How are YOU living? What are YOU listening to? Perception REALLY is key! You can either walk by faith OR walk by sight. You can’t do both! John 1:5 says:
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Ephesians 5:8 tells us:
“For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”
Sometimes it feels as though we are fighting against the tide, doesn’t it? Like we are trudging through quicksand – but that is exactly how the enemy wants us to perceive it. Yet that is far from the truth! Habakkuk 3:19 tells us:
“The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”
Your perception can strengthen you OR it can pollute you! What are YOU choosing to believe?
WE CHOOSE. CHRIST HAS ALREADY PROVIDED THE VICTORY THAT WE NEED TO WALK IN.
Straighten up that back! Push back those shoulders! Raise your head up, child of God. YOU are a child of the MOST HIGH King! He has plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future!
YOU WERE CREATED WITH A PURPOSE.
Your job is to find out WHAT that purpose is! God’s not trying to keep it as a secret from you! He wants you to know it! You have only to seek Him, to trust Him, to obey Him for it to be revealed.
GOD IS FAITHFUL!
Instead of looking back – look forward! Rise up! If you are an ex-prodigal, stop condemning yourself! Stop allowing others who feel they have the right to judge you (they don’t) to dictate who you are. The Bible tells us in Psalm 103:12:
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Stop letting the naysayers, critics and unsaved dictate to you who you are.
THEY ARE NOT GOD.
People’s opinions of you do NOT matter. Some people like to think they have the authority of God, but they are only fooling themselves. Stop giving them power that only belongs to God. Here is one for you:
FORGIVE YOURSELF. STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP.
Get into your Word! Refocus! Renew your mind so that Holy Spirit can transform it! Put on praise music! Turn off the news! Look unto the Creator who LOVES YOU. Who has called you by name! There IS greatness in you – you were created in His image! Bless His Holy Name and focus on the One who is calling you. Your destiny in Christ awaits you! Now go! He has divine appointments that have your name on it! Just waiting for you to answer His call. 😉
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