What’s the Devil’s Scheme?
We can’t live on this sinful world without getting emotionally wounded. Does our enemy enjoy our pain? Yes. But he uses it too. Primarily the Devil wants to damage our walk with the Lord. A healthy Christian imitates Jesus. We grow in kindness, humility and servanthood. But a self-serving, embittered, feeble believer? A Christians like that serves as a great propaganda tool for Hell.
After all, who would ever want to follow Jesus after seeing Christians lead such miserable lives?
Jesus’ Healing Tools
So how can I heal my own pain? How do I stop damaging scar tissue from forming over my heart?
In essence, how do I derail the Devil’s scheme?
Simple—by fighting back spiritually with the tools Christ has given all of us. I’m not talking about the armor of God or the sword of the Spirit.
We use these weapons when we’re fighting spiritual battles.
But a wounded Christian needs to use the tools Jesus gave us for inner healing. These healing tools may surprise you; I discovered them myself one day when I decided to obey Jesus’ hardest commandment. It’s found in Luke 6.
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28 NIV)
Struggling to Live Luke 6:27-28
Obeying these verses? It’s a flesh-burner. We honor God when we return good for evil. But it’s not easy to do. Our injured emotions tug us hard in the opposite direction.
Yet God blesses our obedience, even if it’s with a bad attitude.
Many Christians avoid obeying Jesus’s clear command by saying,
I don’t have any enemies.
To me that’s a dodge. Here’s a better checklist.
- Do some individuals annoy us every time we see them?
- Have we stopped speaking to family members?
- Do we tend to unfriend people who disagree with us on Facebook?
For me? I apply these two verses in Luke 6 even if a person only irritates me. And if I get angry during an argument? The Holy Spirit will often prompt me to write a sincere apology.
Apologizing is a real flesh-burner too. Luckily I’ve had 3 or 4 decades of practice.
Both help me heal and derail the Devil’s scheme.
My Spiritual Point
There’s only one group of created creatures we can stay mad at; Satan and his demons. When my brother died in the hospital after attempting suicide, I got furious with the Devil. In tears, I vowed to make him sorry he’d ever messed with my family.
But I knew I couldn’t get even with the Devil by becoming like him.
Instead, I decided to bless as many human beings as possible. God had gifted me with the ability to teach and encourage other Christians.
I quickly realized I could encourage many more believers if I started writing devotions.
Two years later, I started this weekly blog. I’ve now begun my 9th year and only the Trinity knows how great the harvest is.
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Editor’s Note: The Faithful Wanderer uses WordPress software, so seeing their logo floating on the water made me grin. I can’t think of a a better image to describe what a Christian blogger does. Each Monday I upload my posts to the world-wide web and my words float away. I have no idea who reads my posts, or what spiritual fruit the Holy Spirit produces as a result.
But I know He’s doing something good.
Republished with permission from Blogs.crossmap.com, featuring inspiring Bible verses about Unforgiveness: The Devil’s Scheme.
