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Power Point:
We
have a small guesthouse on our property that we lovingly call “The
Cottage”. It has been a place of grace
for many people over the years. When the
family came for their annual visit last week, my daughter moved out to the
Cottage so that they could have the run of the house. There was an odd smell
there, like urine. A painter had already discovered a hole where squirrels were getting
in, and we were dealing with that, but this was a new “surprise”. I called a pest control service. The man came
and walked the property with Stefanie and the end result of his visit was that
he looked us in the eye and said that on a scale of 1-10 the cottage was a “ten”
in being infested with RATS.
Yes. He said they were big rats and if we didn’t deal with them
we would be overrun with SNAKES. He said the house was infested with MICE. He
named an exorbitant fee. I have to admit
that I let the force of his words blow me off course. I signed up for the
service because he said he would set the traps that evening. All I could think of was my daughter sleeping
in that place and my grandchildren running around with rats. My daughter wanted to wait and get another opinion. I just couldn’t. It was overwhelming.
As you
can imagine, none of us got any sleep that night. All I could think of was the rats throwing a
huge party for all their friends as my daughter and our dogs lay there,
completely unprotected while mice were doing the same thing over our heads. It was a
horrible night.
The next
morning I sat down for a chat with my Father and I began to do what He has
taught me to do. Away from the pressure of what this person had said, I began
to think about what my Father had promised me.
I began to remember that He has promised to destroy the destroyer. It didn't make sense that the destroyer was destroying, so I began
to listen to what HE was saying. Long
story short, we called another service for a second opinion and another man
from the first service came out to check the traps. Nothing. They saw no infestation. There were NO mice in the house. The funny thing is that when we called the
first company to tell them that we would NOT be using their service and why,
they said that they really would like to take care of our pest control
service. Really?! There's an old saying, "Fool me once, shame on
YOU, fool me twice, shame on ME!"
This is
such a perfect illustration of what faith really is, isn’t it? When we allow ourselves to be deceived into
thinking that God is NOT doing what He promised to do; when we allow the
circumstances to dictate lies to us and we believe them; when we allow what we
“see” or “hear” to control our thoughts; when we
accept what someone else says and not what God says, thenwe open ourselves up to
the Destroyer. I was fooled. I took fear. I listened to the wrong
voice.
When your circumstances look as though
your life is infested with rats; when you feel as though the only way out is to
follow what you think you see, remember this:
God rebukes the destroyer for His children. Always.
He gets
angry when He sees them being attacked. He acts for them.
Beloved,
He is on your side. The Scriptures say that over and over and over again. Are
you listening?
Years ago, as my friend Janet and I were
praying one day, God said, “Don’t let the devil dance in My space.” Last week, the devil tried to do a polka in my
mind and for a short time he was successful. If he is dancing in your life, run
to Your Father and ask forgiveness for listening to the lies and then begin to
declare the real truth that will set you free. Get a second opinion! And watch God work for you, against the enemy.
Faith makes us courageous.
Faith strengthens our minds. When Joshua was getting ready to lead the children
of Israel into enemy territory, God said, ”Son, don’t look at what the enemy is
doing around you to distract you. Make sure that you are only look at what I am doing and hear what I am saying. That is the only way you
will prosper and have good success.” (Suzanne version, Joshua 1:8,9)
And then
He said, “Have I not commanded you to be
strong and of good courage?” As someone has said, "This is not a suggestion!"
Courage?
If you have faith in Him, you will have courage. If you have no faith in Him, you will live in
fear. Your marching orders are to walk by faith, to take courage and be
strong.
Courage is
a result of consistent faith, which will consistently strengthen you. When the pressure comes, and it will, take courage in your faith. The destroyer will be destroyed. And the devil will
not dance in God’s space anymore.
Does your
life appear to be infested with rats? Are they gnawing and tunneling their way into your thoughts? Then it’s time to exterminate them. Take courage, Beloved, God is on your side, no matter
what anyone else says.
Power Thought:
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