1 Peter 5:8 (KJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Two words: Spiritual Warfare.
It is alive, well, and all around us, "seeking whom he may devour". You can rest assure that the second you start cleaning out the junk and wrapping your heart with God's Word being "sober, viligant" the devil is going to be after you.
Every single fiber of my being was begging and pleading with me to either visit the local donut shop or order the largest, cheesiest, stuffed crusted pepperoni pizza ever made almost every day this week. Why? Just not been a good week. Really the why doesn't deserve another minute of my time. However, not by own power, I refused. Most of you know I am reading Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. In the very first few lessons I had to write down how food made me feel and reasons I choose food over turning to God, like triggers. I knew that I was an emotional eater. "Oh girl you know me I'm an emotional eater". Like that is a totally ok excuse for throwing months or work out the window. Excuse me Kellie, food is temporary. God is Eternal. I am talking about the living breathing God of all creation that gave His very Son, Jesus Christ for me to be able to stand here and say, "I've had a bad day, but I am an emotional eater." No, no, no.
I refused to drown my sadness, my defeat, my anger in food. I refuse to be devoured. I refuse to allow SATAN to take one more second of the life my God has planned for me, my husband, or my children away from us. Is it easy? Of course not. Is it hard? Yep. Is it gonna get easier? I am pretty sure it's not. That's what this verse means. Be sober, be viligant. He (the devil) is waiting on us to take a breath. To think we are sailing calm waters. So he (the devil) can prey on our weaknesses.
Not mine, not today. Today I choose to remember that He made me for more. That He is made stronger in our weakness, in our struggles, in our storms. At times He allows things to happen in our lives so that He may be glorified. He also reminds us in His Word that He controls our past, present, and future. Our failures and our successes. Our crime and our punishment. Our near misses and our right on target's. There is not one single thing about us He doesn't know, control, and love unconditionally.
With that being said, sin is sin. He does forgive us and redeem us. But that doesn't mean it's a free ticket to do whatever we want. There are consequences to our actions. What He will do in our sin is love us through the storm. The lyrics to Oceans by Hillsong are a perfect explanation:
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now
He won't fail me. He is always to be praised, no matter the circumstance because He will bring a blessing from whatever it is. Maybe not the one we expected or planned for. But what He planned for us and those are always immeasurably more than we could have ever hoped for.
I don't have to continually use food to fill a void, a sadness, the aftermath of a mistake. He wants me to come to Him, depend on Him, love Him more than anything this world has to offer. True repentance comes when sin is acknowledged and turned away from and you remove yourself from temptation by filling your time with His word. Guarding your heart. Which is why the devil is trying to pounce. See the cycle. This has never been more true to me than right now.
A sweet friend that God laid on my heart to contact yesterday sent me this...I thought I was contacting her to give an encouraging word about the amazing things she is doing for other but really He had other reasons in mind. Yet another reminder that He is in control. She told me she had just finished reading this devotional.
God's love, redemption, defying-the-odds, restoration, and more than you could ever imagine in life.... It's different than what you thought it would be but so much greater...
You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result. Genesis 50:20 (NASB) Joseph’s life was anything but peaceful. He was sold into slavery by jealous brothers and thrown into prison on false charges. Yet, he remained free of bitterness or regret and saw God as the “Great Engineer” behind even the worst of circumstances. In a final confrontation with his brothers, he graciously noted, “You meant it for bad; God meant it for good.” “God meant it for good” says: You can accept the past. No sin, no action, no choice on your part is too big for God to handle or too big to be worked out for good (Romans 8:28). Just ask Joseph! Better yet, ask his brothers who ended up relying on him for their survival. You can embrace the present. There’s no need to play the “what if” game. The past is forgiven and gone, and the future is in God’s omnipotent hands; so you’re free to focus on the present: “Wherever you are, be all there,” says Jim Elliot. God wants you in the present because that’s where his grace will flow. You can look expectantly toward the future. Even if you make mistakes today, God still controls your future. Walking in the Spirit, you can live life to the fullest, without fear of making mistakes that take you out of God’s control. Even when things appear to be terrible, you can trust that God is still working out his divine plan for your life. This devotional is by Jon Walker, editor of the Daily Hope Devotionals and author of Costly Grace.
A sweet friend that God laid on my heart to contact yesterday sent me this...I thought I was contacting her to give an encouraging word about the amazing things she is doing for other but really He had other reasons in mind. Yet another reminder that He is in control. She told me she had just finished reading this devotional.
God's love, redemption, defying-the-odds, restoration, and more than you could ever imagine in life.... It's different than what you thought it would be but so much greater...
You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result. Genesis 50:20 (NASB) Joseph’s life was anything but peaceful. He was sold into slavery by jealous brothers and thrown into prison on false charges. Yet, he remained free of bitterness or regret and saw God as the “Great Engineer” behind even the worst of circumstances. In a final confrontation with his brothers, he graciously noted, “You meant it for bad; God meant it for good.” “God meant it for good” says: You can accept the past. No sin, no action, no choice on your part is too big for God to handle or too big to be worked out for good (Romans 8:28). Just ask Joseph! Better yet, ask his brothers who ended up relying on him for their survival. You can embrace the present. There’s no need to play the “what if” game. The past is forgiven and gone, and the future is in God’s omnipotent hands; so you’re free to focus on the present: “Wherever you are, be all there,” says Jim Elliot. God wants you in the present because that’s where his grace will flow. You can look expectantly toward the future. Even if you make mistakes today, God still controls your future. Walking in the Spirit, you can live life to the fullest, without fear of making mistakes that take you out of God’s control. Even when things appear to be terrible, you can trust that God is still working out his divine plan for your life. This devotional is by Jon Walker, editor of the Daily Hope Devotionals and author of Costly Grace.
No matter your weakness, your struggle. Sweet friends, be vigilant, in all things. Stand in the gap for your children. Pray without ceasing. He will keep your eyes above the waves.
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