All day it felt like I was caught in a spiritual tug o' war. In the early morning, waves of depression swept over me, bringing a temptation to despair! As I drove to meet a friend, I prayed earnestly, "Lord, pull me from this pit today." The next hour was one of encouraging conversation with a friend who shares my passion for God and His work. Later in the day I learned of silly criticism leveled against an associate in ministry for whom I care deeply. It made me angry, but I forced a smile! Another situation required restraint as I was confronted with selfishness in a situation that made me want to scream - "what is the matter with you? Can't you forget yourself for even one moment?"
In between those frustrations, I experienced the exact opposite. There was the moment when a generous donor offered to provide a sizeable financial gift to meet a need for a family under my pastoral care. This demonstration of selflessness caused tears of joy and gratitude. As I prayed for the criticized friend, the Holy Spirit ministered to my heart with gentle grace so that my forced smile transformed into genuine joy. In the afternoon, another man called "just to let you know how much you mean to me and to tell you that God uses you to touch my life." When the call ended, once again tears filled my eyes. His heart-felt words were heaven sent, another reminder that God cares for the little things, too. In the evening, I watched an ABC News feature story on the new Billy Graham Library. As they lauded Graham's integrity and influence, it was like God was sending me a message - "Just do the right things moment to moment and leave life up to me! Finish well." As I rolled into bed, I thought to myself- "The Evil One gave it a good shot today, but God won - by a long stretch!"
If you think I'm over-spiritualizing my experiences through that day, consider this passage from the Bible - "Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8, NKJV) How do you think he tries to destroy us? He'll use critics, depression, people who are self-absorbed. These tactics, if not met with prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, will make us ineffective, or fill us with rage, or cause us to run from responsibilities! The full passage, in the contemporary translation, The Message, reads: "God’s strong hand is on you. . . Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith." (1 Peter 5:6-9, The Message)
Believer, do not let yourself think that the Devil only works in gross sins or major moral failures. His desire is to hinder God's work and often he enjoys greater success in the many little frustrations of our lives. We are aware that evil is afoot when we feel great temptations of lust, greed, hatred, and things of that nature. We resist him in those moments equipped with the Sword of the Spirit and the battle shield of Faith. But, he does often catch us napping when he sneaks up on us when we read a critical note and we are tempted to think, "They are right, I am incompetent." He tiptoes into our life when we are fatigued from doing what needs to be done. In those moments, he whispers - "Why are you doing this? Who cares? Life is short, shouldn't you be having more fun?" The temptation is so ordinary often we don't even recognize the hiss of the Snake!
The word from the Word - "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you." (James 4:7-8, NLT) "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up." (Hebrews 12:2-3, NLT)
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God is great,
But sometimes life ain't good,
when I pray,it doesn't always turn out like I think it should!
But I do it, anyway.
Yeah, I do it anyway, yeah.
You can pour your soul out singin'a song
you believe in,
that tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang,
Sing it anyway!
Yeah, sing it anyway.
Yeah, yeah.I sing,
I dream, I love - Anyway.
Yeah.
-- Martina McBride
Hear her sing it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2kJr0VFRyc
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