It is always interesting to me that way I can have a verse memorized and still not really understand- until one day God uses it in the pruning and teaching process and a light comes on and suddenly a new and personal truth is discovered. This has happened lately with two passages that God has brought together in my quiet times and reflections.
James 4:7-8a "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." Now I know this probably appears obvious, but drawing near to God and resisting the devil are very much tied to eachother. In fact, when you draw near to God, you are resisting the devil. By spending thoughtful, prayerful time in the Word, time in worship, time in God's presence, time in confession, then you are very much resisting the devil. You are making it very difficult for the devil to deceive you- to plant lies in your head. I have discovered this connection because I have not been drawing near enough to God. Sure, I have a quiet time and I learn things from the Bible and through other believers...but I haven't really been drawing near to God- abiding, dwelling in his presence- letting him teach me and fill me... Anyway- it was at this time that the deceiver was able to do just that- deceive me- make me doubt the very core of my faith in a way that I had never done before. This is where the other verse comes in.
2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." A thought in and of itself is not sinful- but when we allow it to fester, keep entertaining it, keep meditating upon it, that is when it can lead to sin. Satan fed me a lie, but I kept meditating on it. Instead of immediately recognizing it is a lie and replacing it with a truth from scripture, I kept dwelling on it until it so plagued me that I couldn't worship God. And then that is when I cried out to God and asked for his deliverance- and then got my husband to pray for my deliverance. Then I was set free. My mind and faith was set right again. In a way I am thankful for this crisis of faith, but I also know that if I had stopped the thought from the get go it would not have lead me to the blasphemous thoughts that I entertained.
So that was a few months ago, and I write this now because I was reminded of the same verses a few days ago when my thoughts gave way to a different kind of sin- that of speaking in frustration and not honoring a sister in Christ. I realized that the reason this response came out of me when pressed was because I had been meditating personality traits and actions that bothered me about her instead of focusing on love, patience, humility... Because I did not take the thought captive to the truth- the truth that she is beloved of God, redeemed, precious in God's sight, worthy of my respect...- it multiplied and caused me to lose self-control. It was a fairly small thing, mostly unnoticed by others, but something that I was not proud of- something that God has helped me to overcome in the past, and something that I had to apologize for.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says that God gives you a way out when you are tempted so that you can stand. I think that often the way out is really in the beginning- it is preventative. It is drawing near to God daily, hourly, moment by moment so that deceptive thoughts can be immediately taken captive and replaced with the truth!
James 4:7-8a "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." Now I know this probably appears obvious, but drawing near to God and resisting the devil are very much tied to eachother. In fact, when you draw near to God, you are resisting the devil. By spending thoughtful, prayerful time in the Word, time in worship, time in God's presence, time in confession, then you are very much resisting the devil. You are making it very difficult for the devil to deceive you- to plant lies in your head. I have discovered this connection because I have not been drawing near enough to God. Sure, I have a quiet time and I learn things from the Bible and through other believers...but I haven't really been drawing near to God- abiding, dwelling in his presence- letting him teach me and fill me... Anyway- it was at this time that the deceiver was able to do just that- deceive me- make me doubt the very core of my faith in a way that I had never done before. This is where the other verse comes in.
2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." A thought in and of itself is not sinful- but when we allow it to fester, keep entertaining it, keep meditating upon it, that is when it can lead to sin. Satan fed me a lie, but I kept meditating on it. Instead of immediately recognizing it is a lie and replacing it with a truth from scripture, I kept dwelling on it until it so plagued me that I couldn't worship God. And then that is when I cried out to God and asked for his deliverance- and then got my husband to pray for my deliverance. Then I was set free. My mind and faith was set right again. In a way I am thankful for this crisis of faith, but I also know that if I had stopped the thought from the get go it would not have lead me to the blasphemous thoughts that I entertained.
So that was a few months ago, and I write this now because I was reminded of the same verses a few days ago when my thoughts gave way to a different kind of sin- that of speaking in frustration and not honoring a sister in Christ. I realized that the reason this response came out of me when pressed was because I had been meditating personality traits and actions that bothered me about her instead of focusing on love, patience, humility... Because I did not take the thought captive to the truth- the truth that she is beloved of God, redeemed, precious in God's sight, worthy of my respect...- it multiplied and caused me to lose self-control. It was a fairly small thing, mostly unnoticed by others, but something that I was not proud of- something that God has helped me to overcome in the past, and something that I had to apologize for.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says that God gives you a way out when you are tempted so that you can stand. I think that often the way out is really in the beginning- it is preventative. It is drawing near to God daily, hourly, moment by moment so that deceptive thoughts can be immediately taken captive and replaced with the truth!
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