Mark 8:33 – “But when He had turned about and looked on His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” Are we treating as “most important” the opinions, the possessions, the plans, the temporal things of men? Peter, like most of us, had an issue with the reality that – “good things on this side of Heaven do come to an end”. He was enjoying the blessing of the moment with Jesus, and when that state of contentment was threatened by Jesus’ announcement of his imminent death, it threw Peter into a position of denial of the words of Jesus.
Luke 22:31 – “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:” I am quite sure that Satan’s plan for us is the same as it was for Peter. Satan craves to move us away from where we could be with Christ - right now - so that he can separate us from the fruit of our life with Christ. He wants to rob us of the key ingredients of the Bread of life, and leave us wallowing in the fruitless, left over, inedible, shredded stalks of this temporal life. Why is it that we now hold in disdain some passages of scripture that we once cherished as precious promise? Are we being sifted?
Luke 13:16 – “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” The truth is that you will only be encouraged if you desire to be encouraged. There is a strange point in the lives of believers that encouragement may not be desired because we are so worn down by the repeated attacks of Evil, that we are convinced that we are done and we are castaway. We feel, somehow, we have been passed over by the grace of God. We stare so long at the blessings that others appear to have that we lose sight of God’s tender mercies that are “new every morning” and available to us.
GOD KNOWS HOW FRAGILE WE REALLY ARE and HE TRULY CARES FOR US ... LET HIM. Hear the cries of our God in favor of us. Hear the cries of our God who is always on our side. Hear the shouts of our God who wants us loosed and let go. Hear the pleas of our loving Savior, Jesus, saying …”Come unto me, all ye that labour (exhausted from trying and failing), and are heavy laden (loaded down with burdens of care), and I will give you rest (a reason to recover, refresh and bring you back into the patient anticipation of hope).” Jesus is our reason to Recover.
Please do not turn your ears and heart from the desires of Jesus captured above – “AND OUGHT NOT THIS ONE BE LOOSED FROM THIS BOND?” Jesus wants to free you from the oppression that has neutralized your soul… Let Him.
Maybe you won’t let me encourage you today … but please, Let Him.
HLFA,
Jeff