Satan rose up in rebellion against God and earned a
place in hell with all of the angels who rebelled with him. Adam unwittingly
gave Satan control of the earth by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil.
Now the devil roams the earth seeking whom he may
devour (1 Peter 5:8). Satan perfected his art of deception. We are not
protected from His lies and we can fall for them just like Adam and Eve did.
Add to this devilish seduction to our own lusts and
the powerful temptations from living life in the world, and it is amazing that
anyone ever actually chooses to surrender their life completely to God.
Our sin nature doomed us to failure since birth;
but Jesus Christ set us free from sin and death by His crucifixion,
resurrection and ascension (Romans 8:2).
Our only protection from the devil's lies is to
walk in the Spirit of God and to weigh the thoughts that come into our mind
with the standards of the Bible and the peace of God that guides our spirit
(Galatians 5:15-25).
Once we come to faith in Christ, we still often
hesitate to relinquish to Him the power over our existence. We have a lifetime
of experience with people letting us down, disappointing us and breaking their
promises and commitments to us.
Only the Spirit of God can break down our defensive walls of fear and
mistrust and allow us to fully embrace a relationship that starts with our
total submission to God through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
As we learn to trust in the Lord with all of our
heart, God rewards our faith with health and abundance in every area of our
life. Rather than relying on our own strength and understanding, we seek His
will for every minute of every day (Proverbs 3:5-8).
Prayer:
Father God, You know that we will drive our self
crazy, if we continue to attempt to maintain control over our life. According
to Your Word, those who trust in their own efforts are foolish (Galatians
3:1-3). However, those who walk in Your wisdom are kept safe. We eventually
learn to give You every fear and insecurity that plagues our life, because we
come to understand that You really do care about us (1 Peter 5:7).
You help us to understand Your ways and to know You
intimately. You exercise kindness, justice and righteousness on our behalf
(Proverbs 28:26; Jeremiah 9:23-24). You delight in us and we are Your people. You
are our Good Shepherd and we are the sheep of Your pasture (Psalm 95:7, 100:3).
We live for You and follow Your voice all the days of our life.
Thought for the Day:
Eventually, God’s Spirit leads us to the point in
our life where we step over the boundary of our fear into the freedom of faith
and trust in Him.
