by Joyce Meyer
Show them how powerful you really are.
And run toward them with courage and boldness, knowing that we are supporting you and cheering you on.
“The Young Buffalo—A Story About Facing Your Fears,” betterlifecoachingblog.com, March 22, 2013
Always remember that God and all His mighty angels are with you, and they will fight for you if you will choose to stand your ground rather than run away in fear.
Satan’s Favorite Weapon
Satan uses many weapons against us in hopes of stopping us from being all that God wants us to be and having everything God wants us to have. I believe that out of them all, fear is his favorite and the one he uses most frequently.
Fear has many relatives we also need to watch out for—things like doubt, insecurity, worry, and anxiety. They present themselves in different ways, but are all connected to fear. Watch out for thoughts that come into your mind that begin with “I can’t” or “I’m not.” Satan stays busy trying to tell us what we are not and what we can’t do, but we don’t have to listen to him. If we know God’s Word we can find out what we can do through Him and who we are in Him.
Satan is always negative and energy draining, but God is positive and His thoughts fill us with the courage and energy to do what needs to be done. Satan will tell us what we cannot do and then condemn us when we try something and fail. God will tell us to try, and if we fail we can try and try again. We never fail unless we stop trying and give up.
CHAPTER 5
Fully Assured
O God, we praise Thee for keeping us till this day, and for the full assurance that Thou wilt never let us go.
Charles Spurgeon
The Bible teaches us that we are to approach God in full assurance of faith (see Heb. 10:22), but Satan works tirelessly to steal our assurance and cause us to doubt and feel uncertain about not only our salvation, but about many other things too.
We are told to beware of the “wiles” of the devil (see 2 Cor. 2:11 AMPC), and this lack of assurance is one of them. It is one way he cunningly and craftily attacks us and distracts us from our purpose and calling, as well as preventing us from fully enjoying our relationship with God.
Abraham, while waiting many long years for the promise of God to become a reality in his life, was fully assured that God had the power to do what He had promised (see Rom. 4:21). God had promised Abraham that he and Sarah would have a biological child, but they were both long past child-bearing age. Abraham had nothing in the natural realm to base his assurance on, but he did have a strong faith in God, and because of that he did not despair. Ultimately he did receive the full manifestation of his faith—exactly what he was believing God for! We should always remember that with God, all things are possible (see Matt. 19:26).
Complete and full assurance allows us to enter the rest of God, which means we can be at peace and fully enjoy our lives while we wait on God to do what we are trusting Him to do. However, the devil wants us to be anxious, worried, and fearful. Just think for a few moments about how wonderful your life could be if you had full assurance that God hears and answers your prayers, that you are saved and no one can snatch you from God’s hand, that you are loved unconditionally, and that God will never allow more to come on you than what you can endure (see 1 Cor. 10:13). We need full assurance, not some assurance mixed with some doubt! Putting thoughts of doubt into our minds is one way Satan deceives us.
When we doubt or feel we have lost our assurance, we rarely think the devil has instigated it. Instead, we believe we are weak in faith and often chastise ourselves for not trusting God more. This is not to say that we have no responsibility in these matters, because it is our responsibility to recognize and resist the devil. Part of my purpose in writing this book is to help people know and recognize the lies of the devil and how he attempts to work in our lives. This will give us the information we need to resist him.
When doubt comes, do you habitually resist the devil by reminding him that he is a liar? Do you reaffirm your faith in God by keeping a firm focus on God’s promises in His Word and speaking them over your life? Or do you passively receive the thoughts of doubt and merely wish you were stronger in faith? Wishing is useless because it has nothing to base its desires on, whereas faith can rest on the promises of God.
We do have a responsibility to resist doubt, unbelief, loss of assurance, and all the other lies of Satan. If we are determined to do so, then the Holy Spirit will work with us and help us recognize the attacks of the devil and deal with them successfully. Christians are not meant to remain in doubt or to be uncertain. We are not meant to be passive and expect good things from God to fill our lives while we do nothing. We are meant to fight the good fight of faith (see 1 Tim. 6:12), submit ourselves to God, and resist the devil, and he will flee (see James 4:7).
Satan’s First Attack
One of the first areas Satan attacks is a person’s assurance of salvation. After my father repented of his sins at the age of eighty years old and asked Jesus into his heart and life, it was very difficult for him to believe he had truly been forgiven. He had indeed lived a reprehensible and especially wicked life, and in the process he hurt many people. We had to keep assuring him that he was forgiven, not because he deserved it, but because Jesus had paid for his sins.
Quite often when attending a church that invites people to come to the altar at the end of the service and receive Christ, we see some of the same people come over and over again, and this is because they have no assurance of salvation. They focus on how bad they have been instead of how good God is. God’s promise to us is this: “Where sin increased, [God’s remarkable, gracious gift of] grace [His unmerited favor] has surpassed it and increased all the more” (Rom. 5:20). People often have the mistaken idea that each time they sin or backslide from God, even if only for one day, then they need to be saved all over again, but this is absolutely not true.
I recall receiving Christ when I was nine years old at a church with some relatives we were visiting. At that church service I asked Jesus into my heart. I experienced the cleansing power of God and truly felt that all my sins had been forgiven. But the next day, less than twenty-four hours after my salvation, I was playing hide-and-seek with my cousins, and I was tempted to cheat and peek to see where they hid so I could find them. I succumbed to the temptation, and the thought came to me that I had lost my salvation. I continued to believe that until I was a young adult. I had no idea at the age of nine that the devil was my enemy, a liar, and it was he who put the thought in my head that robbed me of the gift God had given me.
The devil always seeks to cause confusion, and he often does that by taking people from one extreme to another. They may pray a prayer of repentance and feel exhilarated, but those feelings will eventually go away. When the feelings are gone, if they make a mistake, such as losing their temper or telling a lie, it can cause them to believe they have lost their salvation. Or the devil may even suggest that they were never really saved at all. He often reminds us of our sins and tells us that if we were truly saved, we would no longer behave in a sinful manner.
Not one of us has arrived at perfection. We are growing and becoming more spiritually mature, but we will make mistakes along the way. When we sin it doesn’t mean that we are not saved; it simply means we still need to keep growing.
Jesus told His disciples that they were all clean because of the Word He had spoken to them (see John 15:3). How could that be? After all, Judas betrayed Him, Peter denied he knew Him, and they all disappointed Him when they fell asleep while He was suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and needed them most.
In my search for an answer to this, I read one writer who said spiritual immaturity is quite different from rebellion. I agree with him wholeheartedly, and I believe this is a truth we need to fully understand. Rebellion means a person’s heart is still full of wickedness and sin, but spiritual immaturity can be, and is, overcome little by little as the Christian learns the will of God and submits to it.
Jud
as did show remorse for betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, but there is no evidence that he actually repented. Sadly, he killed himself. He fell prey to Satan’s suggestions and made a huge mistake. I once read some history about Judas that said he was insecure and jealous, and we can see how that would be true. He wanted a higher position among the disciples than he had, and his attitude probably opened the door for Satan to convince him to betray Jesus for some money. In contrast Peter was repentant after his denial of Christ, so he was forgiven and God went on to use him in a very powerful way. A similar situation happened with the apostle Paul, and the mercy and grace God extended to him is amazing. He spent years zealously persecuting Christians, but he actually believed he was doing the right thing. He was full of religious zeal and later said that God gave him grace because he had zeal without knowledge.
Peter, Paul, and the other disciples continued to grow spiritually while God was using them. We mature spiritually little by little. While that process is taking place we do improve in many ways, but we continue to have weaknesses to deal with. Let me simply say that you can still enjoy yourself while you are growing spiritually. God knew every mistake you would ever make before you made it, and He loves you anyway. Don’t let Satan convince you that you have lost your salvation when you display immature behavior. Be quick to repent and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow spiritually.
God’s Word promises “that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return]” (Phil. 1:6). Paul said that although he had not arrived at the place of perfection he pursued so fervently, one thing was of prime importance to him—to let go of his mistakes and press on to better things (see Phil. 3:13–14). He knew that if he allowed his mistakes to fill him with guilt and condemnation, then he would stop growing beyond them and never go on to new levels of spiritual maturity. The same is true for each of us.
Walking in Forgiveness
We must learn to walk in continual forgiveness of our sins. Daily repentance should be part of our prayers. King David asked God to forgive him for sins he was unaware of (see Ps. 19:12), and I often do that myself. I learned long ago that it was unfruitful for me to live with a “sin consciousness,” always being aware of every tiny mistake I made. When I realize that I have sinned, I quickly repent. Then, believing I have been forgiven according to God’s promise in His Word, I forget it and go on to better things.
Some Christians have asked me what would happen to them if they should die before they have had an opportunity to repent of a sin they committed. They have been concerned they would go to hell, but that is absolutely not true. Jesus has paid for all the sins we have committed or ever will commit, and He knows our heart toward Him. He knows whether or not the person in question would have repented, and therefore He counts it as done. I urge you to break the habit of living daily life with a consciousness of all your sins and mistakes. Repent and receive forgiveness, then let go of them and press on to the things that are ahead.
Learn to live with a “righteousness consciousness” instead of a “sin consciousness.” This means that we keep our thoughts focused on the fact that we are righteous before God because of what Jesus has done, and we do not dwell on what we have done wrong. To put it very simply, it means paying more attention to our righteousness than to our sin. We are made right with God through our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice. No other sacrifice needs to be made for our sin. We don’t have to offer God our guilt as a sacrifice for our misdeeds. We simply repent and receive complete forgiveness and walk in the assurance of that wonderful gift. We can choose to focus on being right with God, rather than thinking He is angry with us for every mistake we make and dwelling on that.
Therefore, since we have been justified [that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God] by faith, [let us grasp the fact that] we have peace with God [and the joy of reconciliation with Him] through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).
Romans 5:1
Say to yourself daily, “I have repented of my sin and I am made right with God. He loves me unconditionally and all of my sins are forgiven.” Now, walk in that knowledge of being forgiven.
Not only should we walk in God’s forgiveness toward us, we should extend that same forgiveness to those who have offended or hurt us.
Bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive.
Colossians 3:13
Ask yourself daily if you are angry with anyone, and if the Holy Spirit makes you aware that you are, then decide right then and there to forgive completely. Ask for God’s help in doing so, and trust Him to bring justice in your life. Pray for your enemies, that God will bless them, because this is one of the single most powerful things you can do. If Jesus can forgive us for our many sins, then we should be able to forgive anyone else, no matter what they have done to hurt us.
The Prodigal Son
One of the Bible’s greatest examples concerning God’s willingness to totally forgive our sins is in the parable Jesus told about a son who wanted his inheritance early so he could leave home to do as he pleased. In his culture this action was equivalent to telling his father that he wished he were dead. In those times a son never discussed or asked for his inheritance.
The father gave the son his inheritance, and the young man left home and wasted his fortune in living a sinful and undisciplined life. He was eventually forced to work for a pig farmer and even eat the same food the pigs ate. The young man eventually came to his senses and decided to go home to his father. He wasn’t expecting the privileges of a son, but he was ready and willing to work as a servant in his father’s house. However, when his father saw him coming a long way off, he ordered his servants to bring out the most festive and best robe, to find a ring for the boy’s finger and sandals for his feet, and to kill the fattened calf and prepare the finest meat for a special celebration. They were to prepare for a celebration because his son had been lost and now he was found (see Luke 15:11–32).
The amazing part of the story is that the father had already decided to forgive before the young man even repented. Perhaps the father knew his son wouldn’t be coming home unless he intended to do so, but this idea is still very thought provoking. It shows the father’s heart toward his children. Instead of planning the son’s punishment, he planned a party!
God wants us to come to the party too. The New Testament especially is filled with instructions to have joy and to enjoy. Joy is to be the hallmark sign of Christians. We are to rejoice in our salvation and in the wonderful plan that God has for us. We do have trials and tribulations, but as Paul said, we should not allow the difficulty of these momentary afflictions to distract us from the joy that is ours in Christ.
For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]! So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.
2 Corinthians 4:17–18
One of the best and most enjoyable ways to defeat the devil in all his attacks is to remain joyful. He hates our joy because he has none of his own, and for that reason he robustly tries to steal ours.
CHAPTER 6
Assurance Concerning Prayer
To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.
attributed to Martin Luther
A story in The Kneeling Christian, written by a man using the pseudonym “Unknown Christian” and originally published in 1924, reports: “A traveler in China visited a heathen temple on a great feast day. Many were the worshipers of the hideous idol enclosed in a sacred shrine. The visitor noticed that
most of the devotees brought with them small pieces of paper on which prayers had been written or printed. These they would wrap up in little mud balls and fling them at the idol. The visitor inquired the reason for this strange proceeding, and was told that if the mud ball stuck fast to the idol, then the prayer would assuredly be answered; but if the mud fell off then the prayer was rejected by God” (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006, p. xi).
We may think this is a very odd custom, but some Christians pray in similar ways. They basically fling prayers at God and wait to see if they stick or not, but they don’t pray with assurance that God hears and answers.
Christians are meant to know joy and peace, and that isn’t possible unless we know how to pray and have full assurance of the power of prayer. God actually needs our prayers because there is a great deal He desires to do and cannot do unless someone asks Him to do it. It seems impossible that God would need us for anything, but since He works through us, He does need us. Obviously God can do anything He chooses to without anyone’s help, but He has committed Himself to partnership with His children, and that is amazing.
If we want to do much for God, then we must ask much of God. Paul says that God is able to do superabundantly more than all we dare ask or think (see Eph. 3:20). The devil desires that we not pray at all, or if we do pray, that we ask for very little. He hates bold, aggressive, confident prayers. Just think of your own prayers and how often they are attacked in some way.
For example, the phone rings while you are praying and you feel compelled to answer it. Or someone has an emergency just as you are about to pray, and you have to change your plans. Or you suddenly become sleepy shortly after you begin praying, or you have difficulty focusing. Even if we succeed at putting time into prayer, the devil will immediately suggest to us that our prayers were not “right,” that we didn’t pray about the right things or that we didn’t pray the right way. He also makes us think our prayers weren’t long enough or eloquent enough. It took me a long time to realize how the devil stole from me through this method of making me feel that even if I did pray, I didn’t do it right.
