20 Days of 31: Lift His Name, Raise Your Game
I don’t use this word lightly, and it’s possible that you’ve not heard me use it much if at all, but this past week has been rough. Of course, to be accurate, I actually used the word in yesterday’s post titled, Rough is Relative.
Fight
But, to the point, this week has tried to kick the stuffings out of me. When I was a new believer, the reality that the devil would come after me to dim the burning fire I had for Christ actually scared me.
Accepting Jesus as your Savior changes everything, and I mean everything. I’ll never forget the day I shared that news with my folks. I was so proud, and after all, why wouldn’t they be happy for their son? Unfortunately, they claimed I’d joined a cult (a Southern Baptist church)
and accused my wife of making me do it.
Yes, the devil will throw water on your fire, but unless you have the mentors to assure you that your fire is waterproof, you’re left unsure and on the lookout for satan’s attacks. Often times, people leave the church, backslide and live life below the radar as if in hopes of not attracting attention to their faith.
Press
The closer you get to God’s breakthrough blessing, the harder satan will press to stop you from entering into the throne of grace. The beauty of this is that as a believer you cannot be possessed by the devil because you were bought and paid for 100% by the blood of Christ. But, the devil does still exist (Revelation 12:12)
The point is, whether you believe in Christ, there is a supernatural war waging, and you’re involved like it or not. There’s no neutral ground in this battle. Failure to pick a side defaults you outside of His salvation.
Now, back to my week, believing in God doesn’t mean there won’t be trials and troubles. And like I said, the closer we press into His blessings, the harder satan pushes to prevent you from getting there.
Tough
After nights up praying, talking with Leah and tears flooding my face, I heard a message that reminded me of Paul and Silas in their pit of despair. When under attack, they began to praise God. The prison gates busted open and their chains fell free.
It’s easy to thank God when things are going well, and life seems trouble-free, but faith means being faithful always. Praising God has to be more than singing in church when everyone is looking and behaving their best. When it matters most is when we can look through the darkness and praise God for being God.
Lifting His name really does raise your game.
Do Good,
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” ~ Acts 16:25-26