WE RISE ABOVE THE ENEMY’S SCHEMES TO STEAL OUR JOY, PEACE & LOVE

__________________________________________________

“Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” – James 4:4 –

Our Lord longs for us to be caught up in Him. He wants us to live in the embrace of His love and flourish in the center of His will. He desires to help us rise above all evil. Yet too often we are pulled down by the ways of the world.

The ploys of the enemy seek to get us off track of God’s path for us. The evil one desires to steal away the joy, the peace and the love that the Lord is forever pouring out upon us. The schemes of Satan include distraction, distress, and disharmony…

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” – John 10:10

♦  Joy Stealer – Life is rife with distractions that the enemy uses to lure us away from the plans of God. We find ourselves caught up in the busyness of life… wearing ourselves out pursuing our own agendas instead of God’s. Since we have been drawn off the path our Lord has planned for us, we meet with discouragement and despair. The joy of life is stolen away.

♦  Peace Stealer – This age of non-stop information is a recipe for distress. The world bombards us with every reason to be anxious, bothered, fearful. Our Lord is all about drawing us into His perfect peace. The enemy is all about filling us with worry, stress and dread. When we fall for his tactics, our peace vanishes.

♦  Love Stealer – How easy it is to be caught up in disharmony. Life’s frustrations and challenges cause strife. People cast their negative emotions on us… and too often we are drawn into the same. All this leads to an atmosphere of contention, bitterness and discontent. The enemy loves to divide and conquer… since love quickly dissipates in such a climate.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” – Isaiah 53:4

How blessed we are to have a Savior who laid down His life for us so that we could live in victory. He carried our anxieties, our afflictions upon Himself. His suffering paid the price for all the ills we will ever face. We cannot allow the evil one to steal away our victorious life in Christ. How readily we can fall into his traps, getting caught up in negative emotions that run counter to the ways of God. The enemy does not deserve to rob us of our joy, our peace and our love.

“We should not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” – 2 Corinthians 2:11

We are to be ever aware and watchful of Satan’s ploys. Paul talked of the importance of keeping the evil one from outwitting us. We need to recognize his schemes that attempt to lure us away from God’s path.

When we discover ourselves becoming distracted, distressed or in disharmony with one another, we need to step back and see if the enemy is trying to sabotage our walk with God. It is important when we realize we are succumbing to his tricks to stop heading down his path. We check ourselves and yield to the Holy Spirit’s wisdom, guidance and power.

“The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Our Lord promises to give us strength to combat evil. Jesus knew His followers would need divine protection, which is why He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that they be kept from the evil one (John 17:15). He will also protect us from the evil one.

Our victorious Savior has already conquered Satan. The Lord will protect us when we turn to Him. His power… the mighty power that triumphed over the grave… is within us. When we draw upon His infinite power, we can defeat the attacks of the joy stealer, the peace stealer, the love stealer. Through Christ, we can rise above the schemes of the enemy in our lives.