I hate went I’m scrolling through Facebook and all of a sudden an image of a snake pops up in my feed. I quickly scroll by but that image is burned in my head and I physically shudder for added effect of how much I hate snakes (and yes, I shudder even if no one is around).
This happened to me this week. After the theatrics of the super-fast scroll by and shudder were out of the way, it struck me that this is exactly how our enemy behaves.
Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy and he loves the sneak attack.
We’re going about our business having a good day and BOOM. The enemy attacks and all of a sudden we’re in warfare. Can you relate?
It often leaves us reeling not knowing what happened.
Sometimes it’s a thought in our own head that brings the attack. When we nurture and feed that thought, the attack can take on a whole new life.
Let me give you an example from my personal life. God gave me a passion for His Word and I am called to share that passion with others through Bible studies and blogging. There have been times after a study where I know I was teaching the Word He gave me when I start allowing doubts to creep into my head. Those doubts sound a little like this: “Those people were bored and you wasted their time talking nonstop for an hour” or “Who do you think you are to teach God’s holy Word?” Does this sound familiar?
We all have a former life before God.
During that former life, we did things that we are not proud of that lead to shame, guilt and condemnation. I’m no exception. It’s this very area of life where we have to be careful.
If we don’t know who we are in Jesus Christ, we can allow those dangerous thoughts to take up residence. And if we don’t know the Word of God, we don’t really know who we are in Jesus Christ because He is the Word. The Word reveals Jesus and who we are in Him to those who read it.
When we walk in ignorance of our true identity, we allow the enemy to tell us that we are not worthy of our calling.
But here’s the truth.
We no longer own our past or have any right to allow it to come into our present.
Jesus Christ bought our past with His blood. When we allow our past to come into our present, we are stepping out of our new life back into an old life that was put to death when Jesus died.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20
Make sure you catch these words that Paul speaks to the churches of Galatia. This is a very important truth for all of us to be able to put the past in the past and grab hold of our identity in Christ. We were crucified with Jesus the very minute we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. This is done.
We no longer live our old life because He entered us at that very minute and He now lives in and through us! When we continue to allow the past bondage to control our lives, we are doing a great injustice to Jesus.
We are telling Jesus that His death was for nothing.
Jesus is the very substance of life and we are rejecting Him all over again when we stay in guilt, shame and condemnation from things in our past. Click To Tweet He died while we were yet still sinners because He knew that we’d NEVER be able to get our act together without Him.
Let me phrase it one more way. It is a form of spiritual pride when we reject Jesus because we think we are not good enough for Him. We are being self-focused instead of Christ-focused. We will NEVER impact His Kingdom for good and for His glory as long as we are self-focused. Your past does not define you any longer. Turn your vision from your past to His Presence in your present:). Click To Tweet
Your past is covered – once and for all – by the Blood of the Lamb.
Blood is our lifeline and without blood we cannot live, right? Look at it this way. The Blood of Jesus Christ gives us new life. We are a new creation and we need to step into this new life and embrace it.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Every time those thoughts come to attack you, take them captive and make them obedient to Jesus Christ. Tell yourself that Jesus died to pay for those sins. Jesus took your shame and guilt. There is now no condemnation in Jesus because He paid the price for your past.
It is that simple.
Don’t allow those sneak attacks to be anything more than a one minute interchange in your mind. The thought pops in your head that says, “who are you kidding to think you’re worthy of talking to God?” and you immediately tell it that “you are worthy because of Christ Jesus who lives in YOU is worthy of all things.” The thought pops in your head saying, “Skip church today because it doesn’t do you any good anyway. You’re still nothing but a sinner.” To which you immediately reply, “I am not going to church for myself. I am going to church to worship and praise Jesus for being my Lord and Savior and for giving me new life.”
Speak life to yourself.
Here’s another wonderful verse to meditate upon.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:21
The words we speak have power over our life. We can continue to agree with the thoughts of the enemy or we can grab hold of those thoughts and turn them around to speak truth. Truth that comes from the Word of God. Get in the Word today and start reading. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and a revelation of who Jesus is as you begin reading His Word.
We have complete power over the enemy – in all areas of our life.
The Word tells us that if we submit to God that the enemy WILL flee from us.
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
This is a powerful promise that we glean from His Word. When we turn our hearts and thoughts to God and we become conquerors over the enemy. Every. Single. Time.
When we take those thoughts captive whether they are thoughts of our own shame or inadequacies or thoughts of others who have hurt us, we are doing the “super-fast scroll by the snake that pops up in our feed.” We are not giving the enemy any territory in our lives.
Dig into the Word today. You’ll be transformed for the rest of your life.
Stay in the Light and the Love always,
Eva
Leave a Reply