Hold not your peace, oh God of my praise. Psalms 109:1
Has the Word of God ever tormented you? Conviction is one thing; torment is altogether different. God is not a tormentor and yet, when it’s the Word of God that appears to eat at my soul, it can do tricks on my spiritual view of God. He becomes a tease.
I need to know that Satan is cunning. Paul warned me. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Cor. 11:3 The Word, rightly revealed, brings me closer to Jesus. My appetite for Him increases and I can’t help myself from drawing nearer. But Satan will quote scripture (as he did to Jesus) and weave truths together in a way that triggers my issues. How will I know that it’s him working against me rather than the Spirit of God convicting me? I will be led astray from my devotion to Christ. I will find myself backing up, growing shy, beginning to feel distrustful of God’s love for me. I’ll give you an example.
Up until my early forties, Satan did a number on me through hooking two spiritual truths together. 1. God loves me just the way I am – enough to come and die for me. And, 2.) God’s will for my life is that I grow to become more like His Son. Combine those and it’s deadly. How can God love me just like I am if He wants me to spend my whole life changing to become like Jesus? Feeling continually inadequate, I feared drawing close to Him. I could only trust His love if I felt I was acting Christlike. See the trap?
Where are you stuck in your relationship with Christ? Where are you shy of Him? Over what do you back up rather than move closer? Find the answer to those questions and I’ll guarantee that God’s Words have been used against you. The devil knows scripture better than any of us and is not above quoting it out of context. We could be paranoid and say that we’re helpless against such craftiness but we must remember that we have the Spirit of God inside to guide each of us into the way of truth. When I identify feelings of torment, I know to go hunting for the lies that caused it.
Lord, I don’t know who this devotional is for today. Reveal the mis-used scriptures and set the captives free. In Jesus name, Amen
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