Yesterday I gave a short talk at a men's group at my church in which I gave a short synopsis of my life and it included my experience of being treated poorly by a pastor when I returned from an overseas missions trip. I would classify this as spiritual abuse. I realized today that maybe the reason God let me go through this painful experience was to have a better understanding of the damage that the most sinister abuser, the Devil, inflicts on his victims, and for me to better empathize with those who have been held captive in his grip and to present them the light of Jesus and His salvation that can lead them out of the trap of the Devil.
In 1 John 3: 8b, it says, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." Jesus is infinitely more powerful than the Devil and God in His goodness sent Jesus to rescue us from our abusive master, the Devil. How good and loving and strong is God! How wonderful a Hero Jesus is! It is truly an honor to be called into service to such a General as our Lord, and to join Him in this noble work--that of freeing those held captive to the Great Abuser. Jesus came to destroy these works of evil and He is winning! I need to remind myself of this and put my hope in Him and not let the Devil destroy my hope. Jesus is my Great Hope, and His power over death itself by His resurrection is evidence of His ultimate unstoppable victory over the Devil!
Jesus came to give people life to the full. As it says in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy' I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." How liberating to realize this! I mustn't let the Devil take away my sure hope in my unstoppable Hero, Jesus my Lord!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
