God, and God Alone!!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Today's Passage: Psalm 44:6-7
Memory Verse: Same

The enemy never fights fair, does he?  He always finds a way to hit way below the belt.  The worst is when he uses people to come against us.  I know it's a spiritual fight, but the physical manifestations are still painful and life-changing.  How do we respond?  What works?  What doesn't? 

I'll tell you this:  the very thing that got you in the fight will be the thing that gets you out.  What is it?  It's total devotion to the Father.  So winning a battle is not predicated upon how much money is in the checking account, or how many people like me this week.  It's not dependent upon how many services I've attended, or how many good deeds I've done.  What gets me through a battle is God and God alone.  How many times have we tried to resolve issues by using our own devices?  We fall for that trick all the time.  We think by talking to this person less, or doing that thing more, its going to change the situation.   We have an aresenal of "personal" weapons (i.e. pouting, arguing, complaining, shutting down, disappearing, and withholding) that we think will change our situation.  Although we're saved and have become new creations, we've still managed to bring some characteristics of our old self along.  This is where these "personal weapons" reside.  They're merely defense mechanisms.  Things that let people know how disgruntled we are without us having to actually verbalize it.  When we use them, the devil laughs at us because he knows they never work.  They'll never accomplish what we want them to. 

Manipulation has never won a battle for someone, nor has it aided them to the next level of their life.  It just creates a deeper hole.  It's a useless weapon.  We must get to the point where we decommission these weapons and establish the things of God has our tools of war.  Psalm 44:6-7 says, "I don't trust in weapons; my sword won't save me--but it's You, You who saved us from the enemy; You made those who hate us lose face."  Understanding this passage is the key to problem-solving.  Emotional reactions are rarely beneficial.  Spiritual wisdom produces peace.  So trust God to win the battle for you.  It's His battle anyway; you couldn't win it on your best day.  Only He can show you what's needed to be victorious.  We all want to win; we just have to learn how to win.  Winning comes through God and God alone.

Prayer:  Father, I depend on You for victory in my life.  Keep me in Your care.  Allow me to learn Your ways.  I realize the closer I walk with You, the more successful I am.  As the enemy seeks to flood my life, come and raise Your standard against him.  My faith and trust are in You...and You alone, in Jesus' name. Amen.