Nothing

"We must know God."

WE PRAY to lift the needs of others before God. Not that He doesn’t know them and hear them from the hearts of those in need, but our attention to them gets them noticed. Now, I cannot fully explain this. It is something learned by experience with Him in prayer. But there have been needs that crossed my view, and when I lifted them to Him, He noticed them more fully. I have heard Him weep over what some are going through and over what some are willing to admit they need help with. It is me weeping, but it is Him because we are one, says the Word of God.

To get to this place in relationship is really a wonderful thing. I say it not out of pride. I have been open here of some of my recent troubles. I have withheld much because it is between me and family. There are things no one knows. This is human nature. We should not and do not need to spill our guts, as the saying goes. My pastor, Karl D. Strader, used to say his wife wouldn’t allow him to say “guts” so he’d substitute “intestinal fortitude.” This still makes me smile. But my point is, I have developed an intimate relationship.

When the devil got loud in my ear, God got louder. He would not be drowned out by the devil’s malicious jabber. I’ve had a revelation recently of the actual size of the devil in our daily lives. For this, we must read Hebrews 2:14-15.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)

The devil is defeated. Or de-feeted, as my mother always says. He has no authority over men any longer. Unfortunately, people give him authority all the time, and being given a place, he takes advantage of it. But he is no longer an enemy. The enemy which we face today is death. Death entered through sin, which came because of Satan’s deception to Eve. Satan means “adversary.” This is a better reference to him. He is the accuser, the adversary, and as Jesus said, the father of lies. He is a deceiver. He likes to talk like God so that we think its God and then we run with it. We must know God so well that we automatically recognize the devil. This is at the heart of our intimacy with our loving Triune God. I have called them that twice now because too many people lump Father, Son, and Spirit together and lose the image of them as separate but in complete unity. This image matters because though They speak in agreement always, They speak separately as well and will not speak the same. They have different mannerisms.

They are Savior. They are Christ. They are Lord. They are Jehovah. This can all be proven in the Word. When Jesus died on the cross, He was the Father. The Father cannot die, He is pure life. We see this in the stars, which He hung in space. They are still multiplying to this day. God’s life cannot be extinguished. Jesus rose from the dead as the Father, but He inherited the Father’s kingdom as the Son. They are this united. So, too, is the Holy Spirit, who in the Bible is called, the Spirit of Christ and the Breath of the Father. Yet, we see Him speaking to many. There is a misunderstanding of Scripture which has removed His voice. Some say He speaks only what He is told to say. No, He speaks only what is in unity of thought, will, nature, and method with the Son (Jesus) and the Father, who is greater than Him (Jesus’ words).

This is all to say THEY DEFEATED SATAN, that old devil. Our FORMER enemy.

They also removed the fear of death (Hebrews 2:15). No one has to wonder, “What will happen to me after I die?” When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will be in heaven. Both on this earth, for eternity starts today, and in heaven itself, a place of beauty beyond belief. Minister Jesse Duplantis in his visit to heaven said it looks like earth, which is God’s taste. I like that thought. That God created what is His taste. This includes me and you. He made us. Psalm 139 says He knows our form, He saw us when we were created in the womb, and He planned out our days. It tells us He knows our every word before it is spoken. This gives me such great relief.

And now, also, that I don’t have to fight the devil. He is nothing.

“Neither give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:27)

Image by Lynda Smith from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com