1st Cor 10:13 GNB) Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.
I thought I was going to move on to something else this morning, but the Father won't allow me to. He wants me to continue to drive home the message of this verse. You and I must understand who we are in Christ and we must also understand the schemes of the enemy. Actually, in Paul's second letter to the same church in Corinth he explained that if we are ignorant of satan's schemes and methods then he will surely have an advantage over us (2 Cor 2:11). In that same letter Paul taught that while we may be human, satan does not wage war against us in humanly form (see 2 Cor 10:3-5). In other words, the battle we face against the enemy is not one that is fought with knives, swords, and earthly weapons. The battle the enemy wages against us is a spiritual one and his main battleground is our mind!
Solomon said, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he..." (Prov 23:7). If the enemy can get you to see yourself defeated, dejected, disregarded and dismissed, then you will pose no threat to him or his kingdom whatsoever. Actually, satan does not even mind you going to church, just as long as it is a church that is not teaching you how to maximize your purpose and potential, how to receive the blessing of God so that you can be a blessing to others, and how to destroy the works of satan - just like Jesus did. When you start seeing yourself the way God sees you and you start making a dent in the enemy's kingdom, that's when he turns up the heat on you. But don't fear he has no power over you if you remain in faith. The problem is that many believers don't.
Satan knows that there are a multitude of believers who will cower at the first sign of opposition. Not only does he oppose them, but he makes every attempt to get them stressed-out. If satan can get you physically worn, emotionally unbalanced, psychologically unstable, and financially bankrupt then he could care less if you call yourself a Christian or not, because you pose no threat to him. But if you are a believer you is getting a constant diet of the Word of God, who is applying the Word to every area of his or her life, who is being led of the Spirit, and who is ready, willing, and able to BE a blessing wherever the Father sends you, then satan is not going to be happy with you. And what frustrates the enemy the most is that he knows that if you remain in faith - being led of the Spirit, in accordance with the Word, seeing yourself as God sees you - then there is nothing much he can do to you. Even when he attacks you, the attacks always seem to backfire. What he meant for evil, the Father can turn around for your good.
So what does this mean to you? It means the Father needs you to see yourself the way He sees you so that You can do all that He needs you to do in the earth. God's assignment for your life is bigger than your enjoyment. While he does give you all things richly to enjoy (1st Tim 6:17), He is also looking for you TO BE a blessing everywhere He sends you. However, you will never BE that blessing if you see yourself defeated, dejected, disregarded and dismissed.
But if you see yourself as the head and not the tail, as above only and never beneath, as the winner and not the loser, as the victor and not the victim, and as more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus, then the Father will be able to use you mightily. If you live this way God will be glorified, the body of Christ will be edified, and satan will be horrified!
Father, I am not ignorant of satan's schemes. I will not allow the enemy to get me to see myself as any less than the way You see me. I know who I am, because I know WHOSE I am. I have been bought with a great price and that price was Jesus' life. You thought enough of me to send Your own Son to die in my stead. I am eternally thankful for that and I declare by faith since I am covered by the blood, anointed by Your Spirit, and called according to Your purpose, that I will never see myself defeated again! I win the battle for my mind, I see myself the way You see me, and I SHALL BE a blessing today everywhere I go. Send me Father, I am ready! In Jesus' name. Amen!
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