God is our most powerful Friend, and His Word and His Spirit provide all of the tools we need to live in victory; however, in times of trouble it seems that we often turn to the enemy for help. What?????? This has been my observation.
Let me give you an example.
Recently, someone did something to me that wounded me deeply and, instead of beginning God’s journey of forgiveness (yes, it’s often a journey) my pride immediately began compiling evidence which would enable me to dig in and hold onto my pain. My thoughts were along the lines of, “How dare this person treat me this way? Don’t they even remember or appreciate everything I’ve done for them?”
Sound familiar? You see, I was calling on one of my three enemies, —my flesh—which is plagued by awful pride. It’s a constant threat to the presence of God in my life. This enemy within has a pride which breeds unforgiveness and if I don’t quickly call on God to help me forgive—I lose the power of His presence.
There are a million scenarios where we do this—but WHY would we NOT immediately call upon God instead??? He is the only One who lives in the future and has all the answers, right?
Well, God is reminding me of the basics in the Basic Bible Concepts study. You see, we were designed with a body, soul, and spirit. When we are born again, our spirit and soul are made like Christ, and this “inner man” can no longer commit sin; but yet, we still have our unregenerated flesh which is no better than the day we were born again!
Our flesh is one of our three enemies—and perhaps the sneakiest of all because—it is the enemy in the house.
When trouble sends us into a tailspin, pride jumps up from the kitchen table and demands to be in charge! The strategy of our enemies is to make wrong—seem right. And we often allow our enemies’ strategy to take over our reaction and begin falling into anxiety, sadness, anger, or other reactions which—rob us of the joy and peace of God’s presence! We retaliate, drink ourselves into oblivion, break things, shut down, cut-off the offender, harbor ill-will, call a friend and complain, etc. We desperately seek answers from the world culture in order to make our life as pain free as possible.
Of course we do!
But when we do, we are rejecting the immense peace, wisdom, power, and love—we have in the presence of God. You see, after we are born again, it takes determination and discipline to learn to rely upon God and turn to Him first. We must constantly feed our soul and spirit with God’s presence and His Word in order to create a healthy response to trouble. Whatever we feed most grows the strongest—right? So how often are we feeding our inner man? Consider this—if you eat food and drink water every day to sustain your body and your body is going to die someday, don’t you think it’s important to feed your soul and spirit even more often? When we begin to learn the critical importance of the spiritual realm it transforms our daily habits because our perspective is radically changed. We don’t want anything to derail us from our great purpose. We WANT to spend time with God because—if we don’t—we know our soul will become starved and powerless.
Jesus reminds us:
“It is the SPIRIT who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
John 6:63 NKJV
Our inner man hungers for the things of God. We desperately need to allow God to feed us! We can’t do that if we’re playing with sins like unforgiveness and anger. God’s Word is the food that empowers our inner man:
“…newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
1 Peter 2:2-3 NKJV
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God“
Matthew 4:4 NKJV
When we are strengthening our inner man in the Word of God and being fueled by the power, wisdom, and love of His presence then—we do NOT turn to our enemies when we are in trouble. My friend, if you find yourself constantly entangled in being offended, hateful, anxious, hopeless, and have lost your peace, joy, strength and love—it may be evidence that you are starving your inner man.
We were created for a glorious purpose—to bring glory to God—NOT to wallow in the slums of despair!
When we surrender each day to God and seek His way, His Spirit flows through us and we are given immense power over our three wicked enemies. To have His power, we must study His Word and spend time in His presence. In Him, we build on the immovable foundation of Truth which has endured since before the world began:
“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides. Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.”
Psalms 119:89-90, 92-93 NKJV
God’s Word anchors us and His Spirit empowers us—to live gloriously.
If you feel as if your world is falling apart—you may be right—but it’s probably not why you think. You may just be focusing on the wrong world. We are on this earth—but it is not our home. Someday, God is going to right all wrongs. If you are His child, you have this hope which enables you to walk as light and life in this present darkness. He is love; His Word is light, and His Spirit gives us life.
Live after the Spirit and not after the flesh and you will live in the victory God has planned for you today.
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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3 Responses
We must always remember that we have the victory.
Much needed wisdom. Thank you.
Praise God!