Fiery Trials

Monday, October 24, 2022

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.  Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.  If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.  

1 Peter 4:12-14

It’s important to learn to stand against both big and little things the devil throws in our pathway; God's people have always had to do that.  There are enough false things out there to trip up any believer, from lunatic cults to nationalism-driven manipulative politicians from the far left or right. 

While there are all those spiritual traps Satan provides, there is also the reality that we are beings of the flesh as well.  Sometimes we are like the cartoon character, Pogo:  We have met the enemy, and he is us!  

God knows us; He knows our frame, that we are dust.  And so, God provides spiritual protection.  The apostle Paul called it the whole armor of God.[1]  If we will take it, and put it to the intended use, we will be successful in waging spiritual warfare.

Joe Lewis was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.  He fought, 71 times; he lost only once.  During the fifteen years he held his title, he defended it 25 times. 

Bill Stern, the voice of American sports on radio interviewed the Brown Bomber toward the end of his career to find out the technique or secret that Lewis used in fighting his opponents, and how he could win over people who often were much larger than he.  His answer was very simple, I study my opponent, I plan my fight very carefully.  The results are always the same.  I'm never surprised and I stay on the offensive. 

That's pretty good counsel for dealing with the devil.  Satan wins many of his attacks and victories because he surprises us.  We continually live shocked.  The believer has no reason to be shocked, intimidated, or surprised by the attack of the enemy – none whatsoever. God has given us the armor and the battle plan to overcome his attacks. 

Like Joe Lewis we must never underestimate the enemy!  But with that, let me remind us all, that even the enemy’s worst fiery darts hurled at our lives cannot pierce the shield of faith; that is why God can promise us a blessing every time the world, flesh, or devil throws something else in our path.

For You Today

Take a deep breath, and invite God’s Spirit to have complete control in your day.  With that release of control, exhaled towards Heaven, the blessing of peace and God’s rest will descend on your head, like a crown you will wear with distinction and honor!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

       Ears Open - Heart Straight - Eyes on the Road - Sure Foot   and   Between the Mountains

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] Read Ephesians 6:10-18