Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. -James 4:7
I saw this passage in a whole new way today. Whenever I have read this verse in the past, I thought of it as "When Satan tempts you to do something wrong, run away from him." This is definitely true, but today I dug deeper into the verse. Satan will not only try to tempt me to do sinful things, but while I am walking with God, he (Satan) will put obstacles on my path. Slamming me with depression, disappointment, anxiety, worry, darkness, confusion, fear, pain, etc, he then leads me to believe that such abuse is from the Lord.
"I had always thought the most God-pleasing thing I could do when bad things happened was to simply accept them and move on. But God was showing me that when the enemy attacked, He didn't want me to accept it. He wanted me to fight by the power of His Spirit." -Leslie Ludy (From Set-Apart Femininity)
I feel kind of silly to have never thought about it that way! When I have gone through tough times, I have assumed that they were God's way of strengthening me. Satan has often prevented me from living out God's purpose for my life to the fullest, because he put pain along the way... and instead of standing firm and resisting his attempts to attack me, I have accepted it, quickly fallen, and blamed God in the end. It's scary how sneaky Satan is.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. -Ephesians 6:10-11
I definitely believe that God disciplines His children- but what I learned today is that it is NEVER in cruel ways. God is love, and He will not hurt His children.
"I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you." -Luke 10:19
I have realized that accepting the depression, anxiety or any other type of pain from the enemy is ultimately sin. When I accept Satan's cruelty, I am living as his servant, instead of God's devoted follower. When I let Satan put misery in my soul, I become extremely depressed, and that prohibits me from being a light of Jesus Christ. It also takes me off of the path Christ wants me to be on, onto a path of selfishness. From now on, instead of accepting Satan's attacks, I will try to stand firm, and fight against them!
"Despite the popular notion today that it is more spiritual to remain weak, struggling and vulnerable, God desires to build us into valiant, valorous, fortified warriors who fear none but him alone and are vulnerable to none but Him alone." -Another quote from Leslie Ludy's book, Set-Apart Femininity
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2 comments:
I've been struggling with depression for a long time now (since I was 13, so only 6 years, but it still seems like a long time.) I usually get super low for about a week every month (at least lately, before I moved away I could go a few months before another attack.) And a few months ago I thought to myself "God can heal me from this if I just battle it." So far, I haven't been successful in battling it. But I think you are right. I think God wants us to live victoriously. Not to say that He can't use my depression for His glory, because He certainly can, but I also think that if it's in His will He could heal me if I let Him. :)
I really love the scriptures and the quotes you use from Leslie.
Great post chicka!
I was smiling to myself as I read this entry of yours. Along with your "about me" on the side, you seem like such a beautiful and wonderful person- who obviously has God working through her. I'm about to start Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy when it comes in tomorrow :) Which is another reason why I think this entry got to me, was that I think this was not only something I needed to read, but that I also had to respond to.
You are doing a fantastic job with your writing and it's truly a blessing <3
Love,
Jessica
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