I want to share something with you that I have personally found to be true… The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8:
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Sometimes that roaring lion will circle around the same area time and time again and use the same tactics to try to trip you up. This is where we have to be wise. If we take a look at the book of Job 1:16-22 we see this:
“One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan. Satan answered the LORD, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” “All right, you may test him,” the LORD said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence.”
You see, the devil CANNOT do ANYTHING to us unless God allows it. There are perimeters around what the devil is allowed to do. NOTHING in the lives of a believer can happen unless God allows it to. Now I don’t have all the answers, God’s thoughts are MUCH MUCH higher than mine, but in my own life I can tell you that in asking God for wisdom as I go through this thing called life, I have reached a point in my walk where I can see where it is the devil is trying to trip me up. Often God allows things to happen to test our faith and to grow us. What the devil means for evil, God uses for good. The choice we have as we endure trials and tribulations is to determine to walk BY faith, trusting that God knows what it is He is doing in our lives, believing that as the scripture says in Jeremiah 29:11:
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. ‘”
When adversity comes your way, do you lean on your faith and trust in God or do you crumble and allow fear and anxiety to be your guide? I don’t say this in harshness, I say this to remind you that NOTHING and NO ONE is GREATER than our God! Ex-Prodigals, I can almost PROMISE you that ol’ slewfoot will TRY to use the SAME EXACT tactics that tripped you up before – again. He is desperate! But if you recognize what it is he is doing, when he tries to do it, you WILL stand firm in Christ! Decide in your heart, your mind, your spirit that you WILL stand firm in Christ Jesus Who has delivered you from MANY things. Do as it says in Ephesians 6:13:
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
The devil and his demons DO try to circle around and try the same tactics again and again – kind of like a fisherman who has a favorite spot where he knows the fish will bite. He will come back and try to “fish” again. We have to walk in wisdom and when we recognize that the testing of our faith is really to see a measurement of growth in our spiritual walk, we WILL give God the glory by showing Him that we TRULY learned first time around and we will apply our faith and the wisdom of what God brought us out of (or through) before again. Determine in your heart that NOTHING will sway you from your love, faith and trust in God.
I’m not saying this is easy, I’m not saying that you won’t have times of weakness and God knows your heart. God knows we are but dust. If you are part of God’s Remnant, you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, made Him Lord OVER your life than your steps are ordered BY God. Things may come as a surprise to us, but they don’t to Him. As I was driving into my office today, I had a thought – The Garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus prayed on the night of His betrayal and arrest. He beseeched the Father as shown in Mark 14:32-41:
“They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” He said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. “Abba, Father,” He said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” He said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Once more He went away and prayed the same thing. When He came back, He again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to Him. Returning the third time, He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.”
Are you going through something in life that you wish God would take away from you? Are you praying as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? Is Father God indicating that you must go through whatever it is you are going through? Is He not taking away the cup from you? If that is the case, there are a few things you should know…
GOD HAS GOT YOU, HE IS WITH YOU AND HE’S PROMISED HE WILL NEVER LEAVE NOR FORSAKE YOU
(Read Deuteronomy 31:6)
GOD IS SOVEREIGN, HE SEES ALL AND HE KNOWS ALL
(Read Ephesians 1:11)
YOU CAN BE SURE THAT THE GOD WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN YOU WILL FINISH IT.
(Read Philippians 1:6)
What I am saying is this – you can trust God. When you are in the middle of a situation where you can’t see anything but mayhem, trouble and confusion:
KEEP YOUR EYES RIGHT ON JESUS
Don’t look to the left or the right – keep your eyes straight on Him. He is bigger than ANYTHING that can occur in your life. We have our victory IN HIM! Our faith is NOT in ourselves, nor is it in our circumstances, our faith is in HIM ALONE.
Sometimes God calls us to walk through things we don’t want to go through – we can’t see the whole situation, maybe God needs you to be His light in someone’s life and what you are going through is going to reach that person(s) for His glory and for His kingdom. God has a calling on our lives, when we give our lives to Him, they are no longer our own – they are His. Jesus gave His life for us! So we continue to determine (come what may) to live our lives FOR HIM. That dear reader is where our joy comes from, THAT is where our peace comes from, THAT is where our assurance comes from. It ALL comes from Him. And quite honestly, we live and move and have our being in Him and THAT is the absolute BEST way to live, in Christ. Galatians 2:20 says:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
So live FOR Him, trust IN Him and know that whatever you encounter in this life, He has given you the precious gift of eternal life through Jesus, and whether it is here on earth or in the there after – God IS with you, and He ALWAYS will be. \0/ \0/ \0/
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