I feel like a recurring topic that keeps popping up in my race journey is the devil and his temptations. It hasn’t necessarily been in actual temptations, but more so in lessons and reminders. I don’t know why God keeps giving me this type of information, but I believe it might be because He is preparing me for future temptations. In this blog, I want to share with you two of the main things I have recently been reminded of and new learnings around the devil and temptation.
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The Devil’s Purpose
I always knew the devil was bad and wanted to turn us away from God, but I have never taken the time to think about the characteristics of the devil. When listening to the Upperroom podcast, the three purposes of the devil that were given were to steal, kill, and/or destroy.
These really stuck out to me. They reminded me of signs I should be aware of when the devil is trying to attack me. The devil comes in many different forms but the purpose of ever form is always the same: drive you away from the life Jesus Christ has given you.
All the things in your life that are pulling you away from Jesus, whether big or small, are the works of the devil. Become aware of this and prepare yourself. Know where the devil is trying to attack you and strongly pursue God in that area of your life.
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Where the Devil Goes
A huge revelation I had from the Upperroom podcast was where the devil goes. In the Bible, it constantly says the thief/enemy comes. He comes to steal away our life. He comes to kill the joy we find in Jesus. He comes to destroy the hope Christ followers possess. Now on the complete opposite side, Jesus says in the Bible I came. Jesus came down to the world to sacrifice Himself so all future humans can find true life through Him.
Read all of that again. Do you see what I see? The devil is present tense and Jesus is past tense in terms of where they’ve been. Right? So doesn’t that mean that the devil only goes where Jesus has been??? Doesn’t that mean that when the devil comes to you, Jesus has already been? Guys!! This is huge!! The enemy only comes where Jesus has been!!
So what does all of this mean?? It means when the enemy arrives, Jesus has already been there, and He is already with you to fight against the enemy. I love this so, so, so much! It reminded me that before the enemy even thought about attacking, you already belonged to Jesus.
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Who the Devil Goes After
I’ve also been constantly reminded that the devil goes hardest after those who scare him the most. And who scares him the most? The ones who are constantly trying to get closer to Jesus. People who are diving into scripture daily. People who are striving to live life exactly how God has called us. People who are making time with Jesus a priority in their lives. There are so many ways you can be getting closer to God and each and every one of those ways scares the devil so so much.
This has been a huge reminder for me, and it keeps popping up in many different ways. I’ve been reminded by my family multiple times when asking for prayer requests that the devil stays away from me and that I have the strength to fight him away when he comes because we all know he will try to attack. I’ve also been reminded through Pastor Mike’s talk when listening to his podcasts. The reminders are never ending. I strongly believe God is working to engrave that into my brain, so I will be prepared for all the temptations the devil tries to throw at me throughout my journey.
SO there ya have it! That’s what I’ve been learning about recently. I hope this has brought some revelation to you or reminded you of something you forgot about. Let me know what you’re thoughts and questions are and reach out to me if you want to talk more about what I wrote.
Thanks all and I’ve been praying for blessings over all my supporters at home and around the world!
Lots of love, Paige :):)
Podcasts: May 26th- Upperroom Dallas: Words Matter (Part 1) by Michael Miller
September 15th- The Ridge: Messiah: Temptation by Pastor Mike Van Rees
