Have you ever been in one of those seasons where every time you looked around something was going on? Maybe your going through one big issue like dealing with an ongoing illness or maybe it’s many little things in all areas of your life (marriage, job, health). Going through times like these can cause us to feel attacked or even bullied. We have to recognize who we are really fighting. Who is the real enemy?
The enemy’s job is to send distractions that will cause us to separate ourselves from our commitment to the Lord. He tries to do this by getting us off track and backing us into a corner. We get depressed and weighted down. We feel like we can’t deal with life anymore. And for some of us, the more we think about it, the more depressed we get because it’s so much to deal with.
Whether we find ourselves in situations on our job or battling an illness that seems unbearable, we have to ask ourselves who are we really at war with? John 10:10, says “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” What is the enemy really after?
The real enemy is after your belief. He wants to put you in a place where you begin to question God and His word. He’s after your relationship. He wants to distract you to keep you from praying so that you will not build that intimate relationship with Him. He’s after your praise. He wants to silence you and weigh you down with burden after burden so that you will be too tired to open your mouth and praise God through your circumstance.
Here’s the good news: The battle is already won! We have the victory. Our job is to remain in a place of rest. Rest in the word of God and what it says about you. Take God at his word, believe it and stand on it. Do not waiver on the word of God. Do not think one day that God’s word is true and the next say to yourself it will never happen for me. Be firm in your belief in the promises of God. Be steadfast and unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord (I Cor 15:58). Do not be afraid. Do not grow weary (Gal 6:9). The word says resist the enemy and he will flee. Do not allow him to bully you with threats that mean nothing. Isaiah 54:17 says “No weapon formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.” Stand on the word of God and watch the enemy flee. Be encouraged.
goinginward 