A thought occurred to me recently - no matter what the devil throws at us, if we handle it God's way, it only brings promotion. Now that thought alone ought to brighten our days.
I guess I started thinking about it after I read a post by Ken Blount that said the devil only attacks what he fears. If you sail along day after day, month after month, and you never have any adversity - you might want to look at how closely you are walking with the Lord. If you are not living the kind of life that disturbs the devil, then he's probably not going to bother you! Adversity comes as we serve God, but how we handle it determines what the outcome is. Satan would like you to think he determines the outcome, but that is not true. It's actually up to you.
It's safe to say I've had some adversity this year. Really, starting around last October. First the devil tried to bring financial harm to us when some plumbing in our house burst. We have a slab floor, so it could have been very costly and time consuming. BUT - God is faithful - we stood on Malachi 3:10, and it wound up being a very simple job and we came out ahead financially. Ha ha, devil, ha ha!
Then, in December, the devil tried to take out one of my kids and one grandkid. He tried to kill Rebekah and Brody with carbonmonoxide poisoning - not kidding - really tried! According to one very knowledgeable man, they should have been dead two hours before they walked out of the house. God is good! Then, in February, my son got sick and had a very difficult situation where he could have died. BUT, once again, God triumphed! His word says in Isaiah 49:25 that He would contend with him who contends with us, and He would save our children. (My paraphrase) I have confessed that scripture for years, and I literally saw God perform it over my kids. God's Word will not return to Him void, but it will accomplish that which it is sent forth to do. (Isaiah 55:11)
The problem with most of us is that we don't have enough Word in us to know what to say when adversity hits. We absolutely cannot defeat the enemy in our own power. But praise God, we don't have to operate in our power. God has given us His spirit, His Blood and His Word to use against the enemy. Jesus already won the victory - we're just enforcers of it. Sometimes we're better prepared for the attacks than other times. We get kind of lazy with our Word time and the storehouse gets a little empty or a little dusty. But hey, no condemnation - just pick up that Bible, get back into the Word and be better prepared next time.
I have had lots of adversity in the last several months, so I guess that means maybe the devil's a little scared of me? I like to think so, because I have the greater one living in me. Hopefully I am living my life in such a way that the enemy trembles a little when I get up in the morning. Well, lately probably not so much, but I'm going to get back in the Word and get back to what God has created me to do.
I am going to take this adversity, and with the power of the Holy Ghost, the Blood and the Word, I am going to turn it into advancement. You can to - its up to you!
