Some days life just doesn’t make sense. We find ourselves at the end of a hard and long fight, where we sit with victory in our hands, but somehow still feel defeated. Sometimes we get to the finish line and realise that we have lost so much more then what we were originally fighting to keep, and we think why? Where did this all go wrong? How did it all just spin out of control like this?
You my friend, are being played. Whatever you are fighting for, whatever it may be, I promise you, it is only a decoy. You are most probably not putting your defence in the right place and leaving your most precious gift unguarded. You have something the devil hates, something he can never have, you have peace. Not because you created it in your life or carefully planned your daily routine to support it, but because and only because, Jesus gave you peace with God.
You can search for it in every corner of the world, if you are not at peace with God, no amount of money can buy it, you can be healthy, wealthy and spoiled rotten, whether you believe or not , He is your creator and if you are not at peace with Him, your soul will be in turmoil.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your saviour and you do not have peace, it is not because you don’t own it, it is only because you are giving it away. The enemy will stick his hand in our life and take hold of something and with little effort, make us believe that what he is holding, is what he is after, but it’s not, it never is. He is not interested in what he is able to take from you, what he wants is what only you can GIVE him.
He wants your attention, listen to him when he speaks and he wants you to focus all your attention on what he is holding in his hand, so that he can tell you what to feel and teach you to fear. He wants your time and your commitment; he wants to distract you and take your mind captive so you can watch him orchestrate chaos in your life. He has no power over you, but he is hoping you don’t know that, so he tricks you.
So, you are about to lose your job, you think that’s the fight your having? It’s not. One thing after another tumbled and you’re going to lose your house, you think he wants it? He doesn’t. He knows that you know God is able to rescue you and he knows you really do believe it, but he doesn’t care, because he knows it’s not about the house, it’s not about the job, it’s about you, it’s about every second he has to distract you, because the more attention he can draw to what is in his hand, the more time he has to run you dry, he will keep pressing and pressing, sucking all the joy and peace from your life. How many times do we find ourselves crying to the Lord to save us, to ease our pain or fix our problems? Is it wrong to do so? No, but we are giving away much more than what we are really needing to lose.
We scatter and crumble under the pressure, we drown in our fears, begging God to save us. The devil doesn’t care that you are praying, he cares in what state you are. We should be still and know that Jesus is OUR God, we should go into prayer and fasting, submitting ourselves to the Lord with complete trust, not trust that He will save our house or job or whatever it is on the line, know that He is completely capable, but trust that He will be with you even when you don’t win, trust that He will not leave you. We should press into His peace and praise Him for His goodness even when we don’t see it. Instead, we freak out, stress and complain.
How many times has God said don’t be afraid, I will help you, I will care for you? The worst part of it all; the devil is not even stealing our peace; we are just giving it away. Jesus said: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) the devil is not interested in the second part, as we so easily might think, he is interested in the first part! That is why we are losing, even when we win.
Everything is nothing, if we do not have peace with God. Jesus took the sting out of death. The devil waits for our sin, so that he can have legal ground in our lives to steal our peace with God, but Jesus said: No more. It is finished! Our family is whole again, I’m taking my children home and there is nothing you can do, nothing above or anything below, can separate them from me again. You lose. Check mate. (Romans 8:31-39) When we realise what we have, when we really understand our inheritance, what then is this life? What are we so frantically fighting for anyway?
When we think about it, Jesus said we should turn the other cheek, when they want your shirt, give them your pants as well (Matthew 5:38-40). He wasn’t saying submit to your adversary, Jesus was saying guard your heart! Whatever you do, whatever you need to give them, let it be, just don’t let them have your peace. Resist anger resist hatred and quarrelling. Resist fighting and unforgiveness, because THAT is what the devil is after.
If the devil sees more value in our peace than our things, shouldn’t we? After all, you are a child of the most High, don’t you think you will have what you need when the day is done? Heaven paid a very expensive price to take your chains off, you don’t have to keep wearing them.
Miryna van As