Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27 ESV)
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here are so many times in our lives that we allow ourselves to get inundated with daily responsibilities and the troubles of the world; therefore, we forget about God and how we must allow Him to be in our lives. When we become overwhelmed with such, Satan is right there, stealthily trying to keep our focus off God if we are “too weak to fight.” We must not get so wound up in life’s cares and concerns that we unknowingly allow Satan to take over our daily schedule, thus giving him a “field day” with it. Everything is possible with God if you believe. Consequently, stay focused on God’s possibilities because He can do more for us than anyone else can or will.
When things go awry in your life, and they will because this is not a perfect world, Satan will have you so bound that you will feel as if there is nowhere else to turn. Remember that the devil is a liar, and the truth will never be within him. Don’t you know that when you “take your eyes off the prize,” you have just made Satan as happy as he can be? His response will be, “Oh, I got him/her now!” Please don’t give him the satisfaction; instead, say as written in Psalm 25:2 (ASV): “O my God, in thee have I trusted, Let me not be put to shame; Let not mine enemies triumph over me.” Further, focus on what the Lord confirmed in Joshua 1:9 (ESV): “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
If you want a chance at a better, more enjoyable life, stay focused on God’s possibilities, not Satan’s fragilities!
As I was perusing the internet one day, I stumbled across this illustration on “Heaven’s Inspirations” entitled, “Satan Called a Convention,” a Christian story about losing focus on Jesus. Please read, think about, and share it.
“Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address, he said, ‘We can’t keep Christians from going to church. We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their Savior. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, but steal their time, so they don’t have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do,’ said the Devil: ‘Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!’
“‘How shall we do this?’ his demons shouted.
“‘Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life, and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,’ he answered. ‘Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!’
“‘Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive to keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home, and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.’
“‘Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter bunny so they won’t talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death. Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God’s creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!’
“‘And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!’
“It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments, causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there, having little time for their God or their families and friends. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives. I guess the question is: ‘Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge!
Does ‘busy’ mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan’s Y-oke?’”
Have a wonderfully blessed week, be thankful in all circumstances, and never leave home without Him!
(Anna Bright is a minister and educator in Walterboro. She can be reached at abrightcolumn@lowcountry.com)
