By: Hanny Lynn
Stearns
Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying God’s Word Around the
Globe”
October 26, 2016
We Are Not Ignorant of His Devices
2
Corinthians 2:11
lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his
devices.
It never ceases to amaze me how God can take something little and turn
it into something so big. What the devil means for harm, God can turn it around
for our good. When there seems to be no way – He always makes a way. He is our
awesome God! Today was a long Bible Study about prayer leaving me no time to
think about this devotional. I asked the Lord what it would be about once again
and He told me to just keep doing the task I had to complete first. I knew He would
show me.
When I asked again, I was directed toward my bedroom. In there I have a
Bible by the bed. I always open it at night before I go to sleep. I want to
have His word right by me while I rest. I opened up to the verse noted above.
Immediately I was reminded about what happened when I was making my husband’s
dinner tonight. I had already eaten my food quota for the day. As I fixed his
meal separately, I stirred the chicken and considered finishing things up. Just
then I heard the voice say, “Just have one bite of chicken.”
In my heart I knew it was not the thing to do. In my mind, I just
whispered quietly to myself, “No.” And I bypassed the temptation to eat the
chicken that looked so good in the pan sitting on the stove before me. Then I
realized that Holy Spirit had brought a song to my heart called “Something on
The Inside” by William McFadden. It is a great song that talks about something
that’s working on the inside is showing up on the outside. Then it says, “Oh
what a change in my life.” Surely the Lord has brought about great changes on
the inside of me and I am so grateful!
Just a few months ago, I would have easily caved in to that temptation. I
was still so “flesh led” that if it sounded good and didn’t seem like much, I
would have taken that bite. But you see the problem with that one bite of
chicken is that it would be illegal. Out of bounds is more like it really. God
never tells us we can’t do something. He gives us a command and we get to
choose to obey or disregard His request. Tonight, I knew I had already had my
protein portions for the day. There was no room for anything else – not even
one bite.
You see, if we study the word of God and listen to the Lord’s
instructions, we eventually figure out how the devil plays on our former
weaknesses. If he can’t get us to “bite” at the moment, he waits and comes back
around when we are not expecting it. After all I sent out today about prayer
today in the main Bible Study, I am not one bit surprised that the devil
thought he would pay a visit tonight and try to tempt me to over eat. I was
just writing about this today when we talked about how the devil tried to tempt
Jesus with food, and on more than one occasion at that.
Oh, what a change in my life indeed! Where once I fell for the lust of
the flesh and the temptations the evil one would throw my way, now I see it and
I just resist it. I know what I am asked to do by my Father and I desire to
please Him. His word is working in my life. Another thing second to pleasing
Him that keeps me going is you. That’s right. Because I am obedient, the Lord
has entrusted me with the blessing of being a comfort to you with the comfort I
myself have received from Him…
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we
may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with
which we ourselves are comforted by God.
My precious friends, I would not be sitting here tonight writing this to
encourage you from my own experiences if I didn’t wake up and “get with the
program” so to speak. I had to get to that place where I realized that always
giving in to my flesh or the devil is pride and rebellion. It makes me out to
be like the devil rather than like my Master. I do not want that. In addition,
I want to be used by the Lord to be a blessing to others. If I just throw in
the towel and give up I am not only hurting myself. I am hurting Jesus and I am
hurting the body of Christ by failing to do my part that I was called to do in
His body. God would have to leave me sitting on the sidelines because I was too
self-absorbed to care about anything but feeding my flesh. I do not want that
either.
Today my life has been radically changed even from just a year ago –
thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ who always causes us to triumph!
Truly the Almighty has done great things and it is marvelous in our eyes. What
I felt I could not get free of, Jesus assured me that He could make me free. What
looked like a mountain has become as level ground. What seemed impossible in
the natural sense became supernaturally possible with the Lord – praise His name
forever.
Daily I am saying many verses from His word out loud over my life and I
am seriously seeing changes such as I have never before experienced – glory to
God. His word works when we make it our goal to work it. It takes faith. It
takes patience. It takes endurance. After we suffer a little while…
1 Peter 5:10
But may the God of all grace, who called us to
His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
What He says will happen to us will come to
pass if we stay with Him. So here I am tonight. Ready to go to sleep and so
grateful for this opportunity to be a blessing to someone out there in this
world filled with hurting people. I know what it is like to hurt – all too
well. Now I am learning about how marvelous victory feels and I have to say, it
is great to be on the winning side. Will you join me? You’ll be so glad you
did! Keep working the word - it works!
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