Women Arise Weekly Devotional (March 16, 2009)

March 16, 2009

First off, I'd like to WELCOME ALL NEW MEMBERS to the group! You are ALL such a blessing! Thank you to all who have invited their friends and family and I ask you all to continue inviting people! Now for the devotional:

The Closer We Get

Has anyone ever felt as if the closer you get to the Lord or the more you do in obedience to Him, the more Satan attacks you? It's not a coincidence that this seems to happen many times in our Christian walk! Oh no! The devil is a LIAR and his job is to steal, kill and destroy! (John 10:10) So of course he is going to try to do ANY and EVERY thing in his power to discourage us in an attempt to turn away from God! We have to stand firm and refuse to allow him to win the battle!

These are really difficult times for us! All over the world (not just in the US), we are seeing all types of disasters and famines! Job loss, suicide, murder, divorce, various health issues, various temptations, etc. Some days many people feel they don't know how they are going to make it through!

Ladies, I just want to encourage you today to focus on God! Regardless of WHAT it is that you are going through, keep your eyes on Jesus! Remember that when Peter asked the Lord if he could come out and meet Him on the water, as long as he was looking at Jesus, he was still standing...still walking, but as soon as he gave in to his fears and took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink! (Matthew 14:29-31) The same applies to us! I know you feel you are in a boat now, in the midst of a crazy storm with the raging waters and tumultuous waves all around you, and you feel as if you are about to be taken under! But behold, Jesus is RIGHT there in the boat with you! And if you already fell into the raging sea, remember, He is walking on the water and as He did with Peter, He will reach down and grab you before you go under!

Others feel like they are standing in the fire! Well you better believe that that just may be true, but guess what?!!! GOD IS CONTROLLING THE THERMOSTAT!!!! If He allows us to go through anything in this life, He has a greater purpose than we could ever imagine! Trials can make us stronger. They can make us bitter or better depending on what WE choose! If you choose bitter, who are you hurting but yourself???? Really? Bitterness is like unforgiveness! It's a poison to your spirit. You WANT it to hurt someone else, but it's slowly killing YOU! If you allow them to make you better, than you GROW and you FLOURISH and you learn some life long lessons that you would've never learned outside of the struggles! Tough times are testing times and that's when we get to turn our stumbling blocks into stepping stones for Jesus! His power is made perfect in our weaknesses! (2 Corinthians 12:9) Those hard times is when we really get to represent Christ and allow His Light to shine through us! How awesome! Depends on your perspective!

You know I always say that 'I must be doing SOMETHING right!' I say this when I'm really going through some hard times! Why do I say this? Because the devil doesn't bother us when he has us right where he wants us! When we are living apart from God and doing what we want to do, Satan is pleased! He already knows the path we are headed down and as long as he knows that we are displeasing God, he has no work to do...BUT when we are right there in the middle of God's will for our lives, it scares Satan to death! It intimidates him and he will do EVERYTHING in his power, to get us off of the path that God has for us! He will pull out all types of tricks and dirty tactics in an effort to try to get us to doubt God and to give up!

Now that is NOT to say that EVERY time we are going through something it's because we are walking in obedience to God! We all know that is not always the case here! We all sin and fall short of the glory of God, and for those sins, those poor choices we make, we have to suffer the consequences! We can't always blame Satan without taking responsibility for our own actions or chooses in life! He can only do what we allow him to do in certain aspects. There are consequences to EVERY choice we make, good or bad...CHOOSE WISELY! But again, there are those times that we are right in the middle of God's will and those are the times I notice some crazy, satanic attacks coming at me from every single angle! Those are the times when we need to seek God and ask Him to show us clearly what in the world is going on, and to give us the STRENGTH to stand until these calamities have passed us by!!!!

I hope this encouraged someone today! God bless you all!

LaTanya Scott