My aim in this writing is to turn the negative connotation of the above
title into a positive, factual declaration of God’s omnipotent power regarding
situation solving and intervention.
Try as I may to stay clear of antagonistic people and uncomfortable situations,
inevitably they have a way of finding me, because Satan is the unseen enemy;
the responsible foe that is seeking whom he may devour in any way he can.
This nemesis of humanity wants to steal from us the joy, peace, and
lasting contentment that are found only in Jesus Christ. One of Satan’s major obsessions is to bring
Christians to the same level of ungodliness as those without Christ in the world.
Satan also wants to hide the fact from nonbelievers that God forgives
sin and His love is everlasting and free to whoever calls on the Lord for
forgiveness. The devil deceives people,
because he knows that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I am striving each day to maintain the vertical relationship in right
prospective with God so that the horizontal dealings with people remain calm,
while sustaining a Christ-like attitude.
When I am successful in doing this, life is less stressful and my
comings and goings are blessed of God.
At times it is difficult to turn the other cheek, figuratively
speaking, especially when people exude an unkind attitude, impatience, and
rudeness. The old ‘type A’ personality
that I so foolishly displayed when I was younger; not serving God, wants to
resurface and thunder to the forefront, thus, striking out with greater
intensity than the other person may be showing, especially if they are trying
to mistreat or speak cruelly to my wife in a vindictive manner.
I have been around the block a few times when dealing with contemptuous
people, but I try to keep that old nature under subjection, because God set me
free from this behavioral shortcoming when He forgave my sins. But on occasion, the gruff personality and
quick temper from my yesterday’s antics want to rise to the surface and step in
front of better judgment to show his ugliness.
At these times I find myself at the level that I was prior to the hour
when God released me from this unwanted personality. At the moment of confrontation I am eye to
eye at the same level as the person I’m leering at, which is the level and path
that I once traveled before God delivered me from similar displays of anger.
The Holy Spirit is quick to remind me, just before the adrenaline rush
begins to surge, that were it not for God’s grace I would still be a miserable
person; cantankerous like the world around me or even worse. I realize that others’ misfortune could be
mine if the blessings and kindness that God imparted to me had not
happened. I am just a sinner saved by
grace in a world of sinful people.
“There but for the grace of God go I.”
The words printed on my truck’s license plate holder make a profound
declaration. “Christians aren’t perfect
just FORGIVEN”
The unseen enemy is hard at work trying to steal Christian’s peace of
mind and show them that they are no better than those that give them a bad
time. But greater is God within
us than the unseen enemy in the world that wants to destroy our soul.
When I listen to the Holy Spirit and restrain myself from my old way of
dealing with impudence and the vulgarity of people, God gives me the strength
to overcome and endure; without incident.
Notice that I said, “When I listen…”
I believe that when I sincerely try to maintain control of my emotions,
God is quick to work in my behalf to fill my mouth with words that are not my
own; calming situations that Satan orchestrated. A kind word controls things
from getting out of hand, because God is sovereign and His Word declares it so.
(Proverbs 25:11), “A word fitly
spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”
By giving God the opportunity to work out a problem, and us submitting
our will to His, the end result speaks for itself—godly intervention. The key to suppressing the unseen enemy is to
walk in the Spirit each day so that we are emotionally equipped to yield
ourselves to God’s way of handling things.
We need not lower ourselves to the level of the world’s standard of
reasoning by displaying a belligerent attitude.
With the help of the Holy Spirit we can rise above the temptation to
react negatively. Giving the other
person a piece of our mind or doing something worse is not the answer.
This philosophy for living is certainly easier said than done, but when
we do it God’s way, we learn that His way is best, because the results are
always positive in nature. I am weak
within myself, but I am an over-comer through Christ who strengthens me.
(1 John 4:4), “You are of God,
little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater
than he who is in the world.”
Written by,
Papa Boyd
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