"Boy, am I good!"

Pastor Johnny has been preaching an incredible series on spiritual warfare for the last several weeks. It is amazing to me to think of all the ways I am attacked on a daily basis. From the moment I wake up, and probably even while I sleep, Satan is poking at all the weak spots in my armor. He knows exactly where my buttons are; what sets me off; what ticks me off; what causes anger or depression or grief or regret in my life. The taller I stand, the better target I am.

And therein lies the key. The taller I stand, the better target I am. Psalm 3 says "O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill." When we lift our heads above His shield, we are an easy target for the arrows and traps of Satan. But when we hide behind the shield of our heavenly Father and Warrior, we are protected. He then lifts our head when the time is right and we are adequately protected.

It is easy to become prideful. It is easy to think that we are smart, or talented, or gifted, or beautiful, or likeable. We have days when we look around at what we have accomplished and say, "I did that! Yay me! "Boy, am I good!" Of course, we all also have days where we are too critical. "I am too fat, too lazy, too stupid, too ugly, too untalented." However, Jeremiah 1:5 says "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." We were created by Him, of Him, and for Him. He is the giver of all we have and all we are. We can do nothing without Him, and all we have is a gift from Him. This means two things - you are not as good as you sometimes believe you are, and you are usually better than you think you are. We are precious in His sight - and that is all that matters.

Satan can use both pride and degradation to defeat us. Don't let him! Know your value in Christ and cling to that. If you are hiding behind His shield, nothing Satan flings at you will stick or sting! Let your Father hold your hand and your head high!

Love you ladies!
Melanie