SATAN ATTACKS AND DISCOURAGES
/ GOD FORGIVES AND ENCOURAGES!
As followers of Jesus, we have an opportunity to prove to ourselves
that we are becoming ‘less selfish’ and ‘more selfless’. We need to
consider how much attention and effort we give to encouraging others.
When we read God’s Word, we can see many instances of how disciples
of Jesus encouraged others.
There are also examples of God encouraging those He called to serve
(which includes all Christians today). In order for us to become more
‘Christ-like’, we need to become encouragers, even though we might
feel that we are in need of encouragement ourselves.
Encouragement:
The act of giving hope or support to someone.
Discouragement:
The state of having lost your confidence or enthusiasm for something
A few encouragement quotes:
“We will fail, when we fail to try.”
“If we want to lift ourselves up,
we should encourage someone else.”
“Encouraging others is the loudest way
to show that we love and care about them.”
“Success is not final, and failure is not fatal:
it is the courage we gain from the encouragement
of others that counts.”
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great,
which can be achieved when we are encouraged by others”
“We all have a desire to know one person who will
inspire us to be what we know we could be, and
more importantly, what God wants us to be.”
“We cannot expect victory by planning for defeat.”
“Encouragement is like water to the soul,
it makes everything grow.”
“During our darkest moments of failure,
encouragement helps us focus on the light of success.”
BIBLE PASSAGE:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
(1 John 1:9)
MEDITATION:
Any believer knows that Satan has many tactics he uses to try
and discourage us after we have committed to serving the Lord.
He doesn’t “own” us anymore, but if he can prevent us from
serving the Lord, then he can continue “owning” others who
are lost.
Consequently, some of his strongest attacks are on those who
are serving the God in a highly visible capacity (such as pastors,
missionaries, teachers, etc.). If he can cause one of them to fall,
he knows it will have a negative impact on many others.
A young preacher was called out of a life of sin to begin
preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. While in the pulpit
one day, he received a note in which someone had written
all his past sins.
In addition it read,
“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? And you’re
up there telling people to get right with God!”
Do you know what the young preacher did? He read that
note, bowed his head in prayer, stood up and said,
“Ladies and gentleman I have
received a note, and here is what it says.”
Then, in front of that whole crowd, he read every one of those
sins listed on the note. After reading them, he said this:
“Yes, I am ashamed of myself,
but I am not ashamed of my Savior!”
All believers have a sinful past that they would like to forget.
Some have battles with sins even after they surrender to the
Lord. But when we think of our failures, it should cause us
to become both humble and grateful for God’s gracious gift
of salvation.
Even though we are ashamed and regret our sins, we should not
allow Satan to dissuade us from remaining faithful to the Lord,
and serve Him in the areas He has called us to use our spiritual
gifts (the gifts he gave to us when He saved us).
We can’t “undo” our sins any easier than we can “unscramble”
an egg, but we can let them serve as a reminder of the power
the evil one can have on our lives. And when we do, we know
the importance of calling on God, who is mightier than anything
Satan can throw at us.
God promised the Holy Spirit to those who are saved, to help us
in our efforts to resist all attacks from the evil one. We should
always remember His availability and call on Him, rather than
thinking we can win our battles with Satan in our own strength.
Whenever Satan can make us believe that we are strong enough
to turn him away without help from the Holy Spirit, he knows
that he has manipulated our pride, and he will win in his efforts
to discourage us from serving the Lord.
ACTION:
How are you handling Satan’s efforts to discourage you?
Are you fighting him alone, or are you asking for the help
of your advocate, the Holy Spirit? Never forget that we can
call on the Holy Spirit to help us, but we can also call on Him
to fight our battles for us!
What are some past sins in your life that are having a
negative impact on your life as a born-again Christian?
Confess them and bury them in God’s sea of forgiveness.
Don’t try to rationalize, justify, or be dishonest about your
sins….just own them and confess them to our loving God.
Realize that when God has forgiven you, you should forgive
yourself and press on with a desire to avoid them in the future.
His promise is to “purify us from all unrighteousness”.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just and will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:9)
That means He can take away the attractiveness of the sins
which are the greatest threat to our new life as a believer.
We may not struggle with some sins, but we all have certain
sins that are an overwhelming challenge for us to overcome,
and it can be discouraging as we strive to become more like
Jesus.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I come humbly before You confessing
the sins I have committed against You, and asking You to,
not only forgive me, but to also help me forgive myself. I
am ashamed of how I have allowed these sins into my life,
and with Your help, I pray that they will not return in the
future. I can’t fully understand why you would want to use
anyone with a tainted past and present like mine. However,
I am thankful that You are a compassionate and forgiving
God who can change the heart, mind, and soul of anyone,
so that we can be useful for Your ministry. Thank You for
loving me and giving me a greater purpose for living!”
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