We still let the enemy speak with us like he did in the garden with Eve. She was there minding her own business. Scripture says the serpent came into the garden and began a conversation with her. I don’t know if the serpent was satan or if satan spoke through the serpent. We know that the conversation that took place there certainly caused chaos and changed the world forever. An excellent scenario would have Eve telling him to be still that she was not going to discuss anything with him and for him to leave. The ideal situation would have Adam taking charge and stopping the conversation and fruit tasting before it happned. A lot of problems started “in the garden” that day.
We still let him come speak with us, don’t we? We don’t see him in a recognizable form like Eve, although we may have come across someone who behaved like the embodiment of evil in our lifetime. I digress. He is sly and sneaks around having words with us in a mind game. Doesn’t it go something like this? You start to feel unworthy, worthless, ugly, overweight, lacking knowledge, a failure, ignored, downtrodden,depressed, unloved and sick, just to name a few. We hear hurtful, long gone conversations replayed in our head. We are reminded of a past that we have asked and received forgiveness for. Yet here we are, going around the mountain again. There are hundreds of ways he gets the conversation going in our head. Before long we have a spirit of fear and failure. He takes off for a while because he has managed to make us dwell on him instead of Jesus. He probably celebrates a victory in that.
When Jesus went to the cross, he defeated satan and his co-workers. They lose the battle. Until Christ returns, our enemy will involve us in skirmishes. If we give in to his lies we are giving him a higher authority in our life than Christ.
Thought For Today:
When we accept Christ we belong to Him. His shed blood on the cross covered us and defeated satan’s plan for our life. We are forgiven, have the assurance of eternal life and a future home in heaven. Satan’s future home was established long ago and it is in a pit far from heaven.
So when he comes trying to converse with us, reminding us of our past mistakes and failures, unlike Eve, we need to tell him to get behind us. We are the sons and daughters of God and satan has no dominion over us. He was disarmed by Jesus. We are to be sober and vigilant and resist him. Take heart, every believer has similar encounters. Christ made a “public spectacle of him.” He is a loser!
Meanwhile, you are who Jesus says You are. You are a child of God’s, washed in the blood of Jesus, forgiven and assured of life eternal.
Scripture For Today:
Colossians 2:14-15
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. (NKJV)
1 Peter 5:7-11
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
U8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)
Prayer For Today:
Hello Father! We pray that we keep our mind on Your promises. We belong to Jesus. We pray that we keep Him in the high authority place over our lives every single day. A reminder of who has dominion over the enemy when he starts stirring things up in our mind and lives. Forgive us of our sins. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
© 2015 Kathy Ledbetter all rights reserved