Have you ever prayed and prayed for God to give you direction and when He does you have such a peace that walking in that direction doesn't seem very difficult at all?
Well, recently I experienced that very thing. I prayed. God's answer was “go ahead”. So, I did and I knew God was going to bless. As I set out to do as God directed I felt peace, I found answers I was looking for and I was able to accomplish much. I was feeling really good about how I had listened and followed through. That should have been my first warning sign!
What seemed like only moments after the task had been completed, Satan began to prowl.
The positive steps that had been taken were quickly brought crumbling down in the blink of an eye! He caused me to begin to second guess that I heard God clearly. I was crushed. I was angry. I was ready to throw in the towel. I let Satan get in my head, and he loved it! I reacted exactly how he wanted and expected me to!
I began to question why. Why would this be something he would choose to use against me? It didn't seem like that big of a deal. Unfortunately the answer was ...because he could. The last thing Satan wants is for God to be glorified; so instead of allowing me the opportunity to enjoy the "fruit" of the accomplishments, he torn me down. He knows my weaknesses and he uses them whenever I let my guard down. 1 Peter 5:8 says to "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." I can see him now, licking his chops planning on Roasted Patty for dinner! What makes me really mad is he can't do that without my permission and I apparently gave up very easily. BUT… that’s not the end to this story!
What lesson did I learn? To practice what I preach!
A couple of weeks ago I taught our youth Sunday School class. We talked about the story of David killing Goliath with five smooth stones. As we continued our conversation we discussed that we all have "giants" we face every day and what do we use to "kill" them. I suggested that each student choose five smooth stones - five scripture passages that they can use to "kill" the giants that Satan uses against us. I then gave them time to search the scripture and find their “stones”. They took my challenge seriously and they began digging into God's word - it was an amazing site. Some of the students found many more than five... isn't that awesome?
The next time Satan comes along and tries to get me to second guess what I'm doing and tries to make me think that I wasn’t hearing God clearly - I'm gonna start throwing stones!
1. Philippians 4:13 - HE gives me strength!
2. Proverbs 16:3 - Commit everything to HIM!
3. Jeremiah 29:11 - HE has the plan!
4. Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in HIM, not in myself.
5. Psalm 46:10 - Be still and listen, He is God and HE will give me direction.
I challenge you to dig into God's word and find your five smooth stones.
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