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Don't Let The Enemy Get You Down
I want to give a word of encouragement to my fellow Christians out there. I've noticed that there are a lot of us who are going through periods of discouragement, distractions, and other such things right now. I want to remind you that everyday we're dealing with more than what we see here at face value. There's literally a spiritual world all around us, and in this spiritual realm we have an adversary and his minions. They don't want us to succeed. The more we're out there doing God's work, the more we can expect to have obstacles thrown onto our paths. Ephesians 6:11-13 (KJV) tells us... 11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. If you're following the path that God wants you to be on, then you can be certain the devil will be trying to derail you at every turn you make. Maybe, for example, you have people coming into your life trying to tempt you back into old habits. Maybe you have a spirit of division causing trouble between you and your loved ones. Sometimes it can even be something as simple as the phone ringing, or a visitor coming, just as you're getting ready to sit down to read your Bible or pray, or maybe even to put a message out there. The devil is sneaky, and he is conniving. It's his goal to get us down and to keep us down. He doesn't want us spreading the word of God. He doesn't want us praying and praising the Lord. He doesn't want us to follow the will of God for our lives. He wants nothing more than to bring us down. He wants to make us fall. He wants to keep us preoccupied with things of this world, little things that don't even matter. He wants us to forget what we need to be focused on. He wants us to fall from our faith. He wants us to be too discouraged, embarrassed, or complacent to share our faith with those around us. He doesn't want us telling people about Jesus, and the mercy and grace that He offers us. Most of all, he wants to bring as many people down with him as he can possibly manage. In 1 Peter 5:8-9 (KJV) it says... 8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Don't let yourselves become distracted. Don't let yourselves become discouraged. When you're experiencing these troubles, or any kind of trouble, seek God all the more. You know you're on the right track when you have obstacles coming into your life like that. We were told this in advance that it's not supposed to be easy. If things are easy, and you're going through life smooth sailing without a problem in the world, and you consider yourself a Christian, you may want to stop and consider your life, and consider what you're doing, because something's wrong, there's something you're not doing right. It's not supposed to be easy for us, we've been told this already. If it is easy, then we're not being seen as a threat to the enemy (Satan), and if we're not being seen as a threat, then we're certainly not doing things right. Don't let your circumstances get you down. Any time that you have obstacles or any difficulties in life, use these occasions to lean even more on the Lord, not away from Him. Despite how you may feel, He will see you through. This is something He has promised. And, remember, greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world. |