Spiritual Battles
Last week I fell victim to the lies of satan. He caused
me to become despondent and discouraged. However through the comfort of online
friends, church members and others, I began to emerge from this very personal
battle I was fighting and losing.
In my failing battle, I had forgotten the “armor of God”
and the One to whom I should have turned to during my battle. I knew and
believed in God. I didn’t fully place my faith and trust in Him. Had I done so,
I would have beaten satan at his own game; fighting his deception with the Word
of God just as Jesus did after his fasting in the desert.
My losing this battle points out the importance of
building your relationship with God. We should never place our faith in
ourselves, we don’t stand a chance against the devil and his army. But in every
spiritual battle, whether won or lost, there is a lesson to learn.
What lesson you learn is dependent upon your particular
battle. In mine, I was knowledgeable that in life, we are certain to have many valleys
of trial and many mountain tops of victory. We should never worry about the
trials when we have God on our side.
He is shaping and molding us to do what He has planned
for us. We shouldn’t belabor the agony of the trial but be obedient to His
teaching. God has a purpose and a plan in which we are uniquely qualified to
achieve, but only if we are obedient.
In crawling out of my despair, I read a devotional which
proved to be the turning point in this particular battle. Its message was so
simple and clear cut. I was blinded by my fears, I couldn’t see it during the
fighting. The devotional author pointed out the facts about everyone having
valleys’ and mountain top experiences.
He said the valleys’ were the bad things to happen in our
life and the mountain tops were the good things. The point he made which hit me
hardest was almost too easy to believe. Every time you are in a valley (bad
thing), it is always followed by a mountain top (good thing).
Even though I am still in the middle of a valley, there
is a mountain top coming. God is preparing me for something good. Knowing and
remembering this is helping me to fight my way back. My mountain top may happen
tonight, tomorrow or a few years down the road.
My part is to be obedient to God and allow Him to do His
work in and through me. When I do that, my trials will be fewer and the
victories will be many. If we live our lives in twenty four hour chunks; the
trials are easier to manage, because Jesus said in Matthew 6:34 “Tomorrow has
enough of its own worries.” Spend today living and being obedient to God and
your future will be eternal.
Robert Dodson
July 22, 2013