Fear Fighting In The New YearSample

"The Greatest Defender"

Are you at all like me? If one bad thing happens, I am okay. Two things? I start to get frustrated. But three horrible things? I turn into a hot mess of frustration where the whole world seems to be working against me.

I am convinced this kind of thing, in part, is the strategy of the devil. I think he says to himself, “Keep pinging her and you will eventually get her.” I can’t help but notice something, though: I am the one who signs off on this faulty agreement with him. Sure, he can send trials, but he can’t force me to act like a lunatic. I raise my hand for that on my own. I choose that reaction.

The truth is, he has no power to break my insides unless I let his power in. Too often I grant permission. I sign on the dotted line and say, “You got me. We have a deal.”
 
I give him access to walk right into my office, my sorting place. I hand him a cup of coffee, saying, “Make yourself at home.” I listen to all of his pointed accusations. I look down at my feet and feel beaten down. And then, like the horrible lawyer he is, he usually scares me senseless and makes me doubt everything God declares me to be, until I am convinced, head nodding, that I will fail, fall, or forget about God—which I inevitably do.

Am I trying to scare you? Nah. I just want us to be aware. I want to shock us awake to the reality of what we don’t realize is happening. But I also want you to know you don’t have to live in fear.

Jesus is the only agreement that stands up in the court of God’s law. You see, Jesus is both Judge (John 5:22) and Advocate (Hebrews 7:25); He is always pleading and interceding on our behalf. The decks are stacked. Our Lord is the greatest defender and protector who ever lived, and Satan has no chance of winning when we allow Jesus to work for us.