Our Strongest Weapon

We are all in warfare...whether we think we are or not....whether we want to be or not.

There IS someone who is an expert at being deviously evil who wants to use us to slap God in the face. He lives to see destruction to come to each one of us.

He does not have control...God does. He's already been defeated...his time is short...and he knows it. He is filled with rage against God....against man; because he knows man is who God loves with all His heart. He is out to destroy who God loves.

Since he does not have the power to destroy us, his strategy had to become to lead each one of us to "self destruction".

The recent news event of suicide here in our home town has once again made this clear.

First he tempts us to make a lofty expectation that is centered around our own desires or rights.....when it's not met, then come fear and jealousy and judgment and anger towards those involved with alot of energy. Discouraging thoughts are welcomed in our minds almost without any reservation. He works tirelessly to keep feeding these fires that we chose to let in. Bitterness sets in like gangrene and it festers and swells and begins to poison everything about our life....life loses it meaning and purpose and we feel extremely insignificant.

When this goes on long enough then he can easily bring depression without any resistance. We don't want to let anyone into our life...keep everyone around us an arms length away. The deception here is that if I have to give up my anger and judgments of others then I also have to admit that I am wrong.

And THAT is self pity! We have been tricked and are trapped by our own choices.

Though self pity begins as something that feels like comfort (in a sick way!), it soon becomes very painful and a sure path to self destruction.

We feel trapped by holding on to the crusade that we ARE "the right one".

We've fallen for the bait....hook, line and sinker.

Our enemy has us deceived and trapped by our own pride.

Anytime we start to see our need and soften, he just "yanks" on the pride ring in our nose.

Depression goes lower and lower until "hopelessness" becomes our norm.

We are consumed by our own perspective on everything...."it's all about me, me, me!"

Finally thoughts of suicide begin to sound pretty good...."a way out"....the ONLY way out of the pain that has come from our own choices.

Self destruction.

What is our strongest weapon against this diabolical scheme that has been laid for each one of us?

Simply, a thankful heart. A heart that is stirred by the kindness of God that is everywhere in our life...down to the smallest things that we often forget to see and connect that they have come from our Father that loves and cares for us throughout eternity.

A thankful heart is a soft heart...a humble heart...a contented heart....a peaceful heart....a heart that can enjoy the simplest things with pure joy....a heart that is bursting with life and zest and purpose and meaning. A happy heart.

Is that what you have right now in this moment?

No?

Stop. Turn to Jesus and ask for a thankful heart...and then fully surrender yourself once again to Him and look around you to begin noticing the smallest things around you to give thanks for.

Jesus has won that way out of self destruction by laying His own life down for each one of us. It's His gift to us...moment by moment...we only need to see our own wrongness and His rightness and embrace Him as "our life" here and now.

Results? A thankful heart.

What a wonderful, rich way to live!