6. Fear:
Fear is not a new concept in our world. From the beginning throughout the pages of the bible, fear has always been present, and people have acted upon that fear. While fear may always be a part of our lives, how we respond to our fear is what matters the most. It is easy to become controlled by a spirit of fear. God has a calling for your life and a spirit of fear will hold you back from fulfilling that calling. Paul writes, in 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV), “ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Battles cannot be won without bravery, you have to be fearless when facing the enemy; Jesus Christ told His disciples not to fear the one that can kill the body, fear the one that can kill the body and the soul. Matthew 10:28 (NKJV) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
The disciples had more reason to be afraid than most. Those Jews who conspired to kill Jesus were actively hunted down by the followers of Jesus Christ. How could Jesus expect them not to be frightened? Hebrews 13:5 - Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Their greatest adversaries were no match for the King of kings and Lord of lords Jesus Christ. This truth gave them the courage to respond. Hebrews 13:6 (NKJV) So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
If you feel overwhelmed, shift your focus from the problem to the solution, Amid your struggle Jesus is standing beside you. He will never abandon you, and nothing is impossible for Him Mark 10:27 (NKJV) But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
7. Despair:
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church,
2 Corinthians 11:23-27(NKJV)
Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—
Under such pressure, many believers would have doubted their calling or God's goodness. But Paul did not waver. He explained,
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NKJV)
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair: persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed
Satan's attack began with an assault on Jesus' identity as the Son of God. From there, he tried to erode Jesus' dependence on God. Satan tempted Jesus to sin by quoting the Scripture. While his presentation was accurate, his application was not. Instead of fabricating lies, satan attacked Jesus' relationship with the Father and distorted biblical truth. We don't have to look far to find this tactic at work in our world today. Many sincere Christians have wandered from sound doctrine by accepting partial truths and doubting their relationship with God. Our best hope for resisting Satan is to respond as Jesus did and anchor our thoughts.
Ephesians 6:14 commands us, “ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, “ Earlier, Paul wrote that "the truth is in Jesus" Ephesians 4:21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: The truth we stand on, the truth of who God is, what Jesus did for us, and who we are in Christ Jesus-is meant to permeate everything we do. In the battle for our minds, we can refute Satan's lies.
8. Revenge:
The writers in the bible were not immune to this struggle Throughout the book of Psalms, David cried out to God against injustice, on occasion he said, "Psalm 17:13 Arise, O Lord, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword".
In other words, "God, take me out" But David was far from blameless. When he fell for Bathsheba, David sent her husband, one of his most faithful soldiers to certain death (2 Samuel 11:15-17).
Sometime later, God confronted David through a prophet named Nathan. As you might imagine, Nathan was reluctant to rebuke his king, so he started the conversation with a parable about a rich man who mistreated a poor man (2 Samuel 12:1-4). Not realizing that he was the rich man in the parable. David became incensed and said in 2 Samuel 12:5-6 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this [a]shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.
David's response teaches us something about our desire for vengeance. We deal much more severely with others than we would deal with ourselves. Like many of Satan's other schemes, longing for revenge begins with righteous intentions we don't want to see abuses of power or stand by as innocent people get hurt. The danger comes when we attempt to stand in God's place and exact vengeance on our terms.
Romans 12:19 (NKJV)
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Our Protection: The Truth of Scripture
When spiritual battles mount, The Bible is our first line of defense. It contains the mind of Christ between two covers. John's Gospel says, John 12:6 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Later, Jesus told His disciples, John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
By standing squarely on the truth of who God is and who we are in Christ, we can resist the enemy's attacks. Jesus Christ has already claimed victory, and He will not leave us defenseless. 2 Peter 2:9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
When you walk in Truth, you gain the power to overcome deceptions like fatigue, anxiety, stress, temptation, fear, despair, lies, and revenge. Only when you walk in TRUTH!
God Bless, Israel
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