Beloved: grace and mercy be with you forever from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. I welcome you to this new week and pray that you will be preserved in all your ways from every form of danger and satanic attacks, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Now one major way for us to continually enjoy God’s protection from all kinds of danger is to walk in obedience to His instructions all the time. As the bible makes very clear, there is no way we can totally avoid trouble in this world. That is because it is a world that is lying under the control of the devil, that is, to whatever degree God has permitted it (1John 5:19). So, even if we are functioning in the best of character, there will still be individuals who will yield themselves to be used by the devil to make trouble for us. And if he can’t readily get someone to use against us, he may decide to use a created thing or system to attack us.
Daniel, for instance, was living a life that was totally committed to pleasing God. Yet Satan succeeded in getting some of the officials of Babylon to set him up. So, he ended up in a den of lions. (Cf. Dan 6) What about Job? God Himself testified that he was blameless and upright. Yet a time came when Satan came against him and used all kinds of people and things to afflict him. (Cf. Job 1&2)
Therefore, as long as we are in this world, we will, from time to time, come into moments in which troubles will come for us and want to subdue and destroy us. But inasmuch as we are yielded to God, are living in absolute submission to Him and are counting solely on His provisions for us, there is no form of trouble that will come for us that we won’t be able to walk in victory over (Eph 6:10-18). And observe that there are two things I said we must do in order to walk in victory over any trouble. The first is to be fully yielded to God. The second is to be absolutely dependent on Him. It is not either one of the two that we are to do; it is both of them that we must do. Otherwise we are not going to get the desired results.
Unfortunately, there are many of us today who think all that is important is that we totally depend on God and His power and authority to walk in victory in life – how we relate to His instructions is secondary. But that is not how we are taught to live in Scriptures. What we are taught is this: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7NIV) Did you see that? Satan can be resisted and driven away by us. In other words, we can refuse to accept satanic works or activities in our lives. And that is because we are God’s children and have been given the needed authority by Jesus to overcome all his power (Luke 10:19).
But in order for our authority to resist the devil and his works to work, James says we must first of all submit ourselves to God’s authority. If we will not yield ourselves to God and walk in obedience to His instructions, then, we will constantly find ourselves in situations in which we may not be able to appropriately use or enjoy the authority and grace He has given us to walk in victory over the devil and his works. And that may someday prove disastrous for us.
Look at Samson, for example. He was anointed and authorised by God to rescue the people of Israel from the rule and oppression of the Philistines. And he actually set out in life to do so. But because he would not discipline himself to be yielded to God in every area of his life, he was constantly doing things he was not supposed to do and being in places he was not supposed to be. This also seriously affected his ability to organise himself and the people he was supposed to lead to unitedly resist and supress their enemies. He did all he did as a lone wolf. And though, in his indiscipline and disobedience to the ways of God, he escaped the traps of his enemies for many years, there eventually came a time in which he lost God’s anointing upon his life and the authority to protect himself and his people from their enemies. Therefore, he died before his time and left his work unfinished. (Cf. Judges 14-16)
Now if we too don’t want to end up being crushed by satanic schemes and attacks, then, we must not relate to God and His word as Samson did. Instead, we must fully yield ourselves to Him and be devoted to living according to His instructions. Then, regardless of where we find ourselves or what the enemy throws at us while we are walking in God’s will, we can be sure that His protection will always be with us, even as we steadfastly utilise the authority He has given us in Christ Jesus.
Do have a fabulous week.
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By: J.O. Lawal | Date: August 16, 2020 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 9, No. 15