Friday, November 7, 2014

Going up a level? Get ready for a new devil!

I'm not always a big fan of Joyce Meyer (though I believe she's sincere), but I've heard the words "new level, new devil" from her before. I kept having those words echo in my mind yesterday afternoon; today I felt led to write a blog on it. 

I'm a big fan of retro-gaming, still owning my Atari 2600 with 150+ game cartridges. I could probably pick most any game to show as an example, but I'll pick one of my all-time favorites, Pac-Man. I'm sure everyone is familiar with Pac-Man and how the little ghosts chase him around the maze while he eats dots. After Pac-Man has cleared out all the dots and power pellets, he moves on to a new level as do the ghosts. After so long, though, the ghosts become more aggressive and faster. No longer does Pac-Man have it so easy!

I believe we can find a spiritual component in Pac-Man. You see, our lives are the same exact way. When God gets ready to move us up to another level, Satan is not going to stand idly by while we get our blessing. No! He's going for full frontal assault! Whether that blessing be finances, relationships, physical or emotional well-being or a spiritual blessing, Satan is going to fight. 

The Bible tells us that the devil comes to kill, steal and destroy. His handiwork is evident throughout the ages. Even Christ Himself had to fight Satan in the wilderness before the Father moved Him up to a new level. Though certainly never fun, it is in the heat of these battles that we learn to trust God. 

We must keep ourselves on guard against the schemes of the enemy. He's not going to come at you in a red suit with a pitchfork, but instead he aims the fiery darts at our mind in a myriad of ways including doubt and temptation. 

I think many of us are probably worry-warts. What if "this" and what if "that?" We worry over things that will likely never occur. As a humorous aside, I'm reminded of an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies where Granny is intent on getting Miss Jane married. Jed wouldn't go for it, so she went to Jethro. Jethro, always thinking he was an "international playboy," was worried that "she might say yes" and he'd be stuck with her. Granny replied to him that "the moon might come down and kiss you on the forehead, but it ain't likely!" I think that aptly describes most of what we worry about!

He many times will pull on the heart strings as a friend put it to me. He's not going to go after you with something you don't care about. Look at Job and how he lost his kids. If there's a particular blessing you're holding out for, he will many times attack us in that area.

It's time we stand up for ourselves as Christians and know who we are in Christ. It's time to remind ourselves of Whose we are and that He said He came to give us life and give it more abundantly!

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