Devotion
3-23-10
Just the Right Moment
Every business knows just the right moment to present their new idea or product so that you and I will be more likely to buy them. Every government knows when the timing is right to draw the attention of its people in a different direction so they don’t notice what is really happening. Moms know the right moment for telling their children no to something that may hurt them. Every military strategist knows the right timing with the right moment for sending in its troops or making an attack. There is always an opportune time for things to happen and the one thing you and I as believers must understand is that the enemy also has an opportune time to attack us when it is least expected.
This past week, I went with the youth choir from my church on a choir tour through
Satan has three moments in our lives that become opportunities for him to discourage us and draw us away from the Truth. The first opportune time is when we have just come out of a blessing, like the choir tour, and we are feeling really good about it all. Yet, it is just when we have received a blessing that we must be on guard because the enemy knows that as believers he can not indwell us but he can cause us lots of trouble and right after a blessing in our lives is when he likes to send in his little evil worriers to pull us down. (Please note: Satan cannot be everywhere all the time, only God can, so he will use his fallen angels called demons to do his dirty work.) So we as believers, as followers of Jesus, we must be prepared and aware of the schemes of the devil. We must be prepared to fight the battle and not lose our focus on Christ. We must guard our hearts and minds during this time or the enemy will feed us lies that we have done something good so that we become proud and think we did a great thing, when in reality it was God who did all the work in us and through us which provided the many blessings.
The second opportune time is when you are about to receive a blessing. The enemy, Satan, his demons, or just our sinful flesh, will often jump in right at this moment to mess up the good things, the blessings that are coming. Oh he may not know what the blessing is the Lord wants to give you, but he does know that he can discourage you and cause you to cast your eyes down and not see God’s promises. You must be aware during these moments and ask the Lord to give you discernment so you will understand. You must hold on through the challenges you are facing because God has a blessing just around the corner waiting for you and the enemy wants you to doubt God and to give up so you don’t receive that blessing or that it takes longer to receive it.
The third opportune time is when we are physically, mentally or emotionally tired. When we are not rested up our bodies become weak and our minds don’t want to think. We want to cover our heads and turn away from the idea of having to study, talk, or do anything. These moments can be very dangerous in our spiritual lives because if we are not careful we will use our tiredness as the reason for not reading God’s word, not praying, and not fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we do that we become prime targets for the enemy to grip us with his lies.
It is very important to understand that no matter whom we are or how strong a faith we believe we have, we can still be faced with the temptations of the enemy just like our Savior was in Luke 4. The difference is that Jesus knew what was going on and He knew how to fight it. So let’s learn from Him and apply what He did to our own lives so that we too will be equipped in the battle against the enemy and the flesh. Then when we have been given a blessing, when we are about to receive a blessing, or when we are tired and worn out we will not be misled by the enemy and we will instead embrace the truth of God’s word and His promises for us.
Please take time today and read Luke 4:1-20. Tomorrow we will examine how Satan used the opportune times in Jesus’ life to try to make Him fail. But we have a Savior who did not fail and has provided us the way to overcome the enemy. To enjoy the blessings, to look forward for more blessings, and to rest in Him when we are tired and worn out, because just at the right moment He gave His life for us so that we could enjoy the moment He embraces us into His family.
Below, write a letter to your Savior and thank Him for overcoming the enemy, for giving you life and for providing a way for you to not give in to the lies of the enemy. This is just the right moment for you to praise Him and tell Him how much you need Him and love Him.
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