Amazing, simply amazing....this world is plugged with approximately 6.5 billion humans and a person can feel all alone! You know, the Bible talks about not being the only person who suffers...
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1Peter5:8-10NIV
I am not sure I want to break these verses apart tonight, but I do want to do a little exploring...'Resist him', resist the enemy...he 'prowls around like roaring lion...the same kind of sufferings'. I take these verses to include more than the persecutions that our brave brothers and sisters face around the world for their faith. I interpret this verse to include those trials that we face everyday. The enemy of our soul tries very hard to convince us that we are______(stupid, worthless, ugly, useless, smarter than others, invincible....the list could go on, you fill in the blank) and then when we get this idea in our head, we think we are the only one on the face of the planet going through hell and no one could possibly understand us or our situation!
The enemy tries to isolate us, physically, mentally, and emotionally....have you ever been there??? It is horrid!!!I have been there a lot lately.
The enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour....that's quite a trick. He is not a lion, he prowls like one and we are called to resist him. So, the reality is he is only dangerous if we let him intimidate us. 'Standing firm in the faith.' What is our faith? We believe that Jesus is Lord over all...that we are His children and He loves us, cares for us, provides for us, protects us, all based upon what the Bible tells us....So, when I am feeling all alone, isolated, I know that there are others who are suffering the same doubts and insecurities as I do. Though this does not make me feel better (and I certainly wouldn't want others to go through the frustrations I am suffering), it does make me realize that when I look at others and think they have it all together, they most likely don't. Or even if they have it together in areas I don't have it together, they fall short in another area that I have no problem with.
I guess what I am saying is, it is all about perspective. The enemy is not really a lion, he is pretending...my feeling all alone is misleading, others suffer too. If I resist the temptation to believe that I am______(fill in the blank) and instead, focus upon my faith - what the Bible says - the Truth, Jesus will 'restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast.'
Amazing, simply amazing! Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he must flee. James 4:7 It really is all about perspective...I need to keep perspective and to do that I need to keep my eyes on the Lord, not on the 6.5 billion people who surround me. Eyes on the Lord...
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1Peter5:8-10NIV
I am not sure I want to break these verses apart tonight, but I do want to do a little exploring...'Resist him', resist the enemy...he 'prowls around like roaring lion...the same kind of sufferings'. I take these verses to include more than the persecutions that our brave brothers and sisters face around the world for their faith. I interpret this verse to include those trials that we face everyday. The enemy of our soul tries very hard to convince us that we are______(stupid, worthless, ugly, useless, smarter than others, invincible....the list could go on, you fill in the blank) and then when we get this idea in our head, we think we are the only one on the face of the planet going through hell and no one could possibly understand us or our situation!
The enemy tries to isolate us, physically, mentally, and emotionally....have you ever been there??? It is horrid!!!I have been there a lot lately.
The enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour....that's quite a trick. He is not a lion, he prowls like one and we are called to resist him. So, the reality is he is only dangerous if we let him intimidate us. 'Standing firm in the faith.' What is our faith? We believe that Jesus is Lord over all...that we are His children and He loves us, cares for us, provides for us, protects us, all based upon what the Bible tells us....So, when I am feeling all alone, isolated, I know that there are others who are suffering the same doubts and insecurities as I do. Though this does not make me feel better (and I certainly wouldn't want others to go through the frustrations I am suffering), it does make me realize that when I look at others and think they have it all together, they most likely don't. Or even if they have it together in areas I don't have it together, they fall short in another area that I have no problem with.
I guess what I am saying is, it is all about perspective. The enemy is not really a lion, he is pretending...my feeling all alone is misleading, others suffer too. If I resist the temptation to believe that I am______(fill in the blank) and instead, focus upon my faith - what the Bible says - the Truth, Jesus will 'restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast.'
Amazing, simply amazing! Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he must flee. James 4:7 It really is all about perspective...I need to keep perspective and to do that I need to keep my eyes on the Lord, not on the 6.5 billion people who surround me. Eyes on the Lord...
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