It is such a common trend in Christian circles to talk about our struggles but then wrap up the story with a very 'happily ever after,' 'I never had any type of problems ever again', type of end. It paints the false picture that once you have climbed the mountain that there will never be another one to climb. The fact of the matter is that the enemy will come back. Our testimonies do have happy endings, but our stories on earth don't actually end until we get to Heaven. We are fighting a constant battle, and these messages meant to "encourage" can end up deceiving people since our problems do not necessarily end when we become Christians.
My last post was difficult for me to publish because I have always been afraid to really open up about my personal life to anyone besides my family. I had bought in to Satan's lie that if I acted anything but happy, I would misrepresent Jesus. My fear was that lost people would look at me and say, "She is not any different than me, so why would I want what she has?" What I was actually doing, though, was deceiving people into thinking being a Christian meant you had a perfect life. That is not true at all: look at Paul. Being a Christian means that while you will have tribulation, you can take heart for Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33).
That is what is so powerful about real, raw vulnerability, and that is what scares the enemy. He is fully aware of what God can do through our trials, and he is going to try everything in his grasp to stop it from happening. Our stories have impact, so instead of telling people that our relationship with the Lord prevents hard times from coming, let's tell people that Jesus holds our hand through the trials and allows us to walk in victory even with rain falling down all around us. We are not exempt from climbing the mountains just because we are Christians. We do, however, climb the mountains with joy and peace in our hearts because we know Jesus is right there ready to catch us when we stumble.
Let's be straight up: Satan is annoying. We cannot be surprised by his attacks; we have to be fully prepared and wearing the armor of God. In my last post, I talked about overcoming my insecurities, and I have. Unfortunately though, the enemy still comes back reminding me of them from time to time. Just because you let go of your sin and struggle does not mean that he did. I have to tell the enemy, "No, I am not still dealing with low self esteem. Jesus set me free and calls me His beloved daughter!" Whatever your struggle once was, you can tell him the same thing with God's Word right there to back you up.
The Book of Job is my go to when I feel that the enemy is really coming down on me. When looking at the story of Job, Satan showed up more than once throughout; he did not unleash all of his attacks at once. I write all of this to say that just because he is still showing up does NOT mean that you have to retreat back to whatever God already freed you from. Do not give in to the lie that you are still in chains because our Bibles tell us (and the popular Hillsong song) whom the Son sets free is free indeed! (John 8:36).
I wrote an entire other blog post for today, but as I sat in my history lecture this morning, the Lord laid this one on my heart. Because of that, I know someone needs it. Whoever that person is, I am praying for you that you will "tell the devil, no, not today" as Hillsong puts it. You are set free by Jesus Christ: do not let Satan take that peace from you!
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7 KJV
