by Joyce Meyer
I may think I simply must have something and will have to compromise my integrity in order to get it, but I can cast down that wrong thought and decide to do what is right no matter what my carnal thoughts tell me. We have a mind of the flesh and a mind of the spirit. Choosing to obey the mind of the flesh ends in misery of every kind, but choosing to follow the mind of the spirit ends in life and peace and spiritual well-being—both now and forever! (See Romans 8:5–6.)
Although Satan works hard to use the weakness of self against us, he cannot win if we are determined to follow God rather than self. The Bible frequently instructs us to face ourselves honestly and to seek the truth at all times. We are wise to examine ourselves often to see if we are living under the control of self or under the control of the Holy Spirit. We don’t examine ourselves in order to condemn ourselves for our faults, but in order to recognize them, repent of them, and receive God’s help to overcome them.
CHAPTER 14
Stand Still and See the Salvation of the Lord
What we run from hurts us the most.
author unknown
In Exodus 14:13, Moses gave the Israelites an instruction that would be life-changing for them if they would follow it—to “stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD” (NKJV). They had been in slaves in Egypt for four hundred years, and freedom was finally within reach. Pharaoh had reluctantly let the people go into the wilderness, and God had told Moses to lead them to the Promised Land, a land filled with many good things. The good life they had longed for awaited them, but there was a problem. Pharaoh let them go, but he sent his army after them and the Red Sea blocked their path forward. They were in a situation they could not get out of without divine intervention. The Red Sea was in front of them, and the Egyptian army was behind them. They were ready to return to Egypt because they thought their only other option was to die in the wilderness. Trusting God to intervene on their behalf did not occur to them. Often when we see a situation that appears impossible, we are ready to do what they were going to do—run!
And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.”
Exodus 14:13–15 NKJV
These verses remind us that our battles belong to the Lord and show us how to let Him fight them for us. First, we cannot run away from problems; we have to stand and face them. And second, we also have to move toward them in faith, trusting God to help us overcome them. “Don’t run away, go forward” is a perfect picture of courage.
To go forward when you feel afraid is courage. Courage is not the absence of fear, problems, or seemingly impossible obstacles, but going forward when you feel afraid, believing God will be with you as you keep moving toward your goal.
The problem of running is not a new one. The Bible is filled with stories of people who ran, but interestingly, I have found that God always brought them back to the places they ran from. You see, we conquer nothing by running away. The message of Exodus 14:13–15 is profound and actually gives us the answer to many of life’s problems: Don’t run, but stand still, stay calm, and then go forward when God leads you, and He will fight for you.
As the Israelites followed the advice God gave them through Moses, He did the impossible. He parted the Red Sea and the people walked through it on dry ground. But when the Egyptian army followed, the sea closed up over them and they all drowned. Nothing is impossible with God! Disobedience never leads us to the miracle-working power of God, but obedience does.
Moses ran from Egypt when someone saw him kill an Egyptian in an effort to help his people, but after forty years in the wilderness God sent him back to Egypt. He had to return to the place he ran from in order to fulfill God’s purpose for him (see Acts 7:23–36).
Hagar ran from her mistress, Sarah, and God told her to go back to her and submit to her control (see Gen. 16:8–9). At first glance this could seem very unfair. After all, Sarah mistreated Hagar, but we must not forget that Hagar had a wrong attitude toward Sarah. We frequently see what others do to us as wrong, but we don’t see what we may also be doing wrong. We want to run from our discomfort and pain, but God keeps us there until we see our part in the problem and let Him help us correct our behavior. Most of the things we run from are the very tools God has chosen to use to help us mature.
Elijah ran from Jezebel and hid in the wilderness, but when he finally met with God, he was told to get back to work. He could not be God’s prophet if he was a coward (see 1 Kings 19:1–16).
Jonah ran from God’s call and found himself in a terrible mess. He cried out to God and was delivered, but he had to go back and complete the assignment he had refused to do (see Jonah 1–3).
King David ran from (ignored) his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband for at least a year. But God sent Nathan the prophet to confront him and to help him face the truth and repent (see 2 Sam. 12:1–9; Ps. 51).
People run from difficulties for all kinds of reasons and in various ways. We may run from responsibility, accountability, hard work, difficult people, challenging places, our sin, ourselves, the truth, the past, and many other things. We may remove ourselves physically from a situation. We may stay too busy to deal with the problem, or we may try to escape it through substance abuse and addictions. But there are two ways we run that I want to discuss in greater detail—making excuses and blaming others.
Excuses Keep Us Trapped
I once heard that an excuse is nothing more than a reason stuffed with a lie. That may sound harsh, but if we are honest we will admit that is exactly what it is. Even if unjust things have happened to us and caused us to behave badly, we must not let them become an excuse to remain that way. Jesus came to set us free from all bondage, but He won’t do so while we run and try to hide from the truth. Every excuse we make for bad behavior keeps us trapped in it.
There are many biblical examples of people who made excuses for not obeying God. Jesus tells us a parable about a man who hosted a big dinner party and invited many guests. This represents the invitation God gives everyone—an invitation to believe in Jesus, to be born again, and to receive forgiveness for sins. Let’s look at the excuses people gave.
“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have purchased a piece of land and I have to go out and see it; please consider me excused.’ Another one said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have [recently] married a wife, and for that reason I am unable to come.’”
Luke 14:18–20
What a great example of the types of excuses many people make for not putting God first in their lives. They are busy taking care of the things He has provided. We would have nothing without God’s goodness, and then we often repay Him by letting the things He gives us draw us away from Him.
This parable offers us many different valuable lessons, but we will look only at the fact that excuses seem to keep many people from being obedient to God or from doing what they should be doing.
The apostle Paul had to urge the Galatian believers not to let their newfound liberty in Christ become an excuse for selfishness (see Gal. 5:13). We see a lot of this in our society today. People demand their liberties, but are often insensitive and selfish regarding how their supposed liberties affect those around them. Paul said even though we may be free to do a thing, if it will offend others we should restrain ourselves out of love (see 1 Cor. 10:31–33). Paul was dealing with Gentile and Jewish believers. The Gentiles had no problem not being circumcised or eating meat offered to idols, and many Jewish believers didn’t, either. But some of them did; thus, Paul urged those who didn’t, not to be selfish in exercising their liberties.
In most cultu
res today it is acceptable for women to wear pants (trousers, slacks) even while ministering, but there are still a few who would be offended by this type of dress. When I travel in those cultures, I wear dresses or skirts out of love for them.
If we would take one week and truly listen to ourselves, we might be appalled at the number of excuses we make for not doing the right thing. We don’t call someone back as we said we would, so we make up an excuse instead of simply saying, “I’m sorry. I definitely should have called you as I said I would.” We are late for an appointment and we give an excuse such as “The traffic was really bad,” when the truth is that we simply didn’t leave early enough to be on time.
Thousands upon thousands of couples divorce, citing incompatibility as an excuse. But the truth is that they didn’t want to make the effort to learn how to get along, or they were not willing to compromise and sacrifice in order to make room for the differences in their personality and their spouse’s. Any two people can easily find many reasons not to get along, but mature people will do everything they can to make a marriage work before they give up.
Some people go from job to job and never stick with anything long enough to learn a trade or be promoted. To defend this instability, they typically cite a problem with the company, the management, the working conditions, or other employees—never laziness or irresponsibility on their part. They start a new job, and before long they find something they don’t like and they quit. They continue to do the same thing repeatedly. Finally it becomes difficult and perhaps impossible for them to even get a job because people with reasonable intelligence can see the problem and know that if they hired this person, they would be hiring a problem.
These people never learn that the devil is putting in their heads ideas about things they should be unhappy with. They are deceived, so they never face the real problem, and the devil gets his way and ruins their lives.
I heard about a woman who was getting married for the seventh time, and she went to her pastor with a prayer request that the man she was about to marry would treat her right so they could stay married. She had never realized that she was the only common denominator in all seven relationships and that there was a strong possibility she was the problem.
The only way to prevent the devil from deceiving us is to always be willing to take responsibility for our actions no matter what others are doing. If you are looking for the perfect job or spouse, you are already deceived because the only perfect thing that exists is Jesus, and He wants to help us face and deal with the imperfect aspects of our lives in a loving, peaceful way.
There are times when we should leave a job or even a marriage, but when the same thing happens too often, we are likely to be the problem. To keep running from that fact by using excuses only keeps us miserable and in bondage.
Who Are You Blaming?
Another way we avoid dealing with our problems is to blame them on someone else. I recently heard a person mention something that had gone wrong in his home, and he said it was his wife’s fault. I said, “I wonder who people that live alone blame their mistakes on?” We both laughed because we realized that we usually blame someone else for what we should take responsibility for.
For example, if I get upset, I think or say it is because Dave or someone else did something to irritate me. Through blaming, I avoid taking responsibility for my lack of self-control. If I am late, I can usually find someone or something to blame it on instead of taking responsibility for my own poor planning. If Dave has to swerve to avoid hitting another car on the highway, it is always the other driver’s fault for pulling out in front of him. It is never his fault ().
If we would make the effort to truly pay attention to how many excuses we make and how often we blame others for our poor choices, we would be amazed.
Blaming began in the Garden of Eden, when Adam blamed Eve for giving him the fruit that God had forbidden him to eat, and the blame game has never stopped since (see Gen. 3:12). Adam was, I am sure, quite happy to be the one who was supposed to be the head of his home, but he wasn’t doing his job or he would have told Eve no when she gave him the fruit and urged him to eat it, as she had done. Eve always gets the blame for original sin, but I think Adam was just as responsible as she was. They both received punishment and chastisement from the Lord, so obviously they were both responsible. Not only did Adam blame Eve, he also blamed God for giving her to him. After their sin they were hiding from God, and when God confronted them, asking why, Adam said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:12 ESV).
There are times when we, like Adam, blame our problems or the injustices done to us on God. Many people are angry with God because of the pain they have experienced, but He is not the source of our problems. The devil is. If we are going to be angry with anyone we should be angry with the devil. The only way to get him back for what he has done to us is to do as much good as we possibly can—the only way to overcome evil is with good (see Rom. 12:21).
During their years in the wilderness, the Israelites blamed Moses and God for their troubles, but the truth is that their problems were due to their own bad attitude (see Num. 21:4–5).
It is time to stop running. Stand still, be silent, and see the salvation of the Lord. He will fight your battles for you, but only if you confront them with Him by your side.
The Journey
Gaining freedom from bondage is a journey. It is a journey back to the things we ran away from and learning that we can do all things through Christ Who is our strength (see Phil. 4:13). As we face our issues, we learn they no longer have power over us. In our walk with God, we are continually learning and changing.
My childhood was filled with violence, incest, and the fear of my father, and my mother would not face and deal with any of it. I saw firsthand the tragic result of running and hiding from problems that needed to be confronted, yet I left home and did the same thing for a number of years. I thought that because I had left home, I had left the problem behind, but I failed to understand that it was etched in my soul and that I needed inner healing.
My soul—thoughts, emotions, and will—were very dysfunctional, but I made excuses and blamed everyone and everything for my dysfunctional and ungodly behavior. I did anything to keep from facing the past because it was so painful. I didn’t realize the only way to move beyond it was to face it.
I used my past as an excuse for my bad behavior and my inability to maintain healthy relationships. But as long as I made excuses, I wasn’t facing the past and dealing with it in a godly way. I used the painful, unjust things that had happened to me as reasons not to take responsibility for my improper attitudes and actions. When you reach the end of this chapter, it might be a good time to take a break from reading and ask yourself if you are doing the same thing in any area of your life. Remember, although the truth hurts, it is the one thing that makes us free (see John 8:32).
Deliverance comes when we learn to stand still (stop running) and confront the problems we prefer to avoid. Is there anything you are running from? If so, open your heart to God in that area and ask Him to do whatever He needs to do in order to set you free from it. As He does, take steps of obedience and be assured that each one will take you a little closer to enjoying the life Jesus desires for you. Then you will see the salvation of the Lord, and see God fight your battles.
When we stand still and face difficulties, thankfully we don’t have to do it alone. We are God’s children, and He will guide us, restore us, heal us, and be with us every step of the way. If you need healing in your soul, I recommend my book Healing the Soul of a Woman, which takes you through the journey from brokenness to wholeness. I believe it will help you move forward.
When I say we need to face the past, I mean we need to fully accept either what we have done wrong or what others have done to us. We need to realize that although we cannot go back and undo what has happened, we can be set free and even be made stronger because of it. God can t
ake the worst things in our lives and make them our greatest blessings. Remember, nothing is impossible with Him (see Luke 1:37).
CHAPTER 15
Spiritual Warfare God’s Way, Part 1
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.”
Zechariah 4:6 ESV
Understanding or helping others understand how to fight against an invisible enemy with invisible weapons while wearing invisible armor is very challenging. The enemy, the weapons, and the armor are all undeniably real in the spiritual realm, but that realm cannot be seen with the natural eye unless, of course, God miraculously opens a person’s eyes and allows a glimpse into it.
Although we cannot see the devil, we can easily learn to discern and recognize the fruit of his activity. Strife, hatred, anger, war, famine, disease, disasters, tragedy, insecurity, addictions, and thousands of other things are the works of the devil. Jesus said that the thief, meaning the devil, “comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). In the same verse, Jesus also said that He came to give us life and to give it “in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” The Greek word translated life in this verse means “life as God has it”—that is, the type and quality of life God offers. Jesus didn’t come to Earth so we could walk around and be miserable, but so we could overcome all the works of the enemy and enjoy life as God intends for us to enjoy it.
Jesus didn’t come simply to give us the promise of heaven when we die, but to give us a life worth living while we are on our way to Heaven. Eternal life doesn’t begin when we die; it starts the moment we are born again. Jesus came to give us victory and make us more than conquerors (see Rom. 8:37). He also came to destroy the works of the evil one (see 1 John 3:8), which does not mean to make them disappear, but to give us the strength to overcome them through our faith in Him.
