You are a threat!
*To hear this inspiration on Dianna’s podcast—an audio companion to the written devotion—click here to listen.
Yesterday, I was sharing encouragement on my Facebook page. I love connecting with you all there, by the way. It is a tremendous blessing to share encouragement, prayer, and uplift you, my dear faith family. Thank you for following me and engaging with me on social media.
Tuesday afternoon, I was reading some of the comments underneath one of my posts. This is something I don’t get to do as often as I would like. However, I felt the Holy Spirit urging me to do it yesterday. When I obeyed, God drew my attention to a response from a woman named Shae Bryant. In her comment, she was very honest, transparent and raw.
Shae said, she has been praying about something but feels like God doesn’t hear her, isn’t there, or perhaps that she’s doing something wrong. “I don't think I have any fight in me left,” Shae wrote, explaining to me that her strength is all gone, and she is mentally and spiritually drained. She then requested prayer and said that she had suffered a nervous breakdown six years ago and is presently tired.
As I read her words, my heart broke for Shae. Not only did I reply, but I interceded for her. I know how hard life feels when your strength wanes and your mental health takes a hit. It is devastatingly difficult. It can make life seem hopeless and the fight look pointless. But no matter how hard things get, we are not fighting on our own.
I have had to remind myself of this very thing many days and nights, as I fight through feelings of sadness, anxiety, and confusion due to my traumatic brain injury diagnosis. Forgetfulness is something I deal with daily as well as negative thoughts that put me down and tell me that there is no way I can do all God has called me to do. Having not-so-positive thoughts constantly bombarding my mind is something specialists say is “normal for someone with my diagnosis, but this will get better as I continue cognitive behavioral therapy.”
Like Shae, there have been days when I have been exhausted, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. When I was first diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Extreme Anxiety in addition to a brain injury, I had no idea how vicious my mental and emotional fight would be.
Whoa buddy!
At times, it has taken every ounce and shred of faith I have in me to keep my head above water while feeling like I just might drown in my own tears. It gets dark. I have dealt with spontaneous crying spells; being startled and triggered; feeling like I’m dying because of panic attacks; getting jumpy, afraid and nervous; unable to carry on a one-on-one conversation because, well, anxiety; frustrated over not being able to figure out simple things that once came naturally to me.
In the early days, Daily Cup family, I didn’t understand why God would allow all this to happen. Have you ever felt like that? Like, God, enough. Why won’t You answer me? Why won’t You relieve this pressure? Why not take this burden? Why not work an instantaneous miracle for me?
“God doesn’t always do things the way we want Him to, and we won’t always understand. But He is always with us, and victory always belongs to us. We will never be defeated!”
I was reading John 11 where Lazarus, Jesus’ beloved friend, suffered. And He did not get an instantaneous turnaround either.
Nope.
When Lazarus became deathly ill, his sisters, Mary and Martha, who were also devoted followers of Jesus, sent a message to Jesus asking Him to heal Lazarus. Although Lazarus’s condition was grave—and Jesus knew that—He did not come right away. He let Lazarus die. He let Lazarus’s family and friends feel the pain of loss. He let them deal with disappointment that the savior, the one who had power to change everything, chose to do nothing in that moment.
I can hear family friends saying, “Ain’t that a mess, child? Jesus is supposed to be their friend, and He didn’t even bother to show up when He knew Lazarus was sick. Girl, that’s a doggone shame.”
It looked bad, right? But Jesus had a plan, didn’t He? It wasn’t the end of the story. Jesus resurrected Lazarus after he had been dead in the tomb for four days. It was the most amazing miracle Jesus had ever performed, and Lazarus got new life!
Now, usually, that’s where we end the story. We rejoice that it’s never too late for God to turn things around, shout, and go home. But wait. Not so fast. Even though sickness no longer threatened to rob Lazarus of life, the enemy put out another hit on Lazarus.
According to John 12:9-11, being resurrected from the dead by Jesus made Lazarus quite popular. When folks came to Bethany to see Jesus, they also came to see Lazarus. They wanted a glimpse of the miracle man! The paparazzi showed up. Groupies were outside the house. Lazarus was the man, the myth, the legend. And Jesus, the most legendary of all, grew in popularity too.
Through this miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, God was glorified. More people than ever believed in Jesus because of this spectacular display of His divinity. Oh, but the Jewish leaders, well, they were mad about it. They did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and they wanted to stop others from believing too. The chief priests’ hearts were hardened against Jesus. So, as part of their plan to stop all this believing-in-Jesus-business, they were going to kill Jesus. But not just Him. They were coming for His suddenly famous good friend Lazarus, too.
“The devil comes for you when God’s glory shines through you. Expect the attack, but also expect the victory. It is guaranteed. It’s already yours. Rejoice!”
The Jewish leaders said, on account of Lazarus, many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in Him—and that was a huge problem for them. Poor things didn’t realize that they couldn’t stop this unstoppable move of God. They didn’t understand that Jesus was God wrapped in flesh, and His redemption plan was already established before the foundations of the world. Their arms were too short to box with God, but they sure did try!
While the Jewish leaders were plotting, God was working.
In verses 12-16, when Jesus came to Jerusalem the next day, the crowd came with their palm branches and went out to meet Him.
“Hosanna!” they cried out. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Jesus rode on a donkey for His coronation ceremony, and this only made the homicidal leaders angrier. Verses 17-18 tell us that the crowd that witnessed the miracle continued to spread the word. Folks who heard about Jesus showed up to meet Him. In verse 19, the Pharisees realized their pitiful little plan to shut Jesus down wasn’t going to work. This revival was spreading. The movement was growing too rapidly. The Jews said to one another in exasperation, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
They were so bothered by Jesus being the main attraction. And friend, it still bothers the enemy to this day. He hates to see God getting glory through your life. He hates it when the light of Christ shines through you and others come to know Jesus because of you. That’s why Satan tries everything he can to silence your testimony, to afflict you, and to take you out. You are a target, because you’re a threat.
You see, you’re an asset to the Kingdom of God but a liability to the kingdom of darkness. Your faith is attractive. Your praise is contagious. Your testimony is an effective witness to the supremacy of Christ, the sovereignty of God, and the authenticity of the miraculous. No wonder the enemy has put out hit after hit on you…on me…on us.
He can’t stand who or what we represent. He hopes that we will retreat and give up. Listen, the devil would never come this hard at a non-threat. The level of the attack on you is an indication of the level of anointing on you and the level of power that’s working in you.
There’s a Joanne Clancy quote I read the other day that says, “Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says ‘Oh, no! She's up.’”
I love that! It’s such a cool quote. At the same time, the impact of being that kind of woman (Come on somebody!) cannot be underestimated. I say that because when the enemy is threatened by you, you can be 100 percent sure that he’s coming for you. He will come for your health. He will come for your finances. He will come for your family. He will come after your ministry. Your purpose. Your confidence. Your mental and emotional stability. He will come at you full throttle with everything he has in his arsenal.
Now, that’s no cause to be afraid, but you do need to be aware. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Having an awareness of Satan’s intentions is necessary but being afraid is not. Again, you are a threat. Satan knows he can’t defeat you, but he can target you. When he does (And he inevitably will!), remember Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon formed against you will prosper.”
Jesus Christ, the one who already defeated death, hell and the grave, lives in you. Even when it gets hard, you have victory, because you are victorious through Him. You might cry, but you are not defeated. How do you know that?
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 KJV, which is what I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration, says, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, remember, this is what the word of God tells us, but it is up to us to take ownership of what the word says, internalize the promises of God, and believe them. When your faith is being tried, and you are struggling, the word of God is still true. It is still effective and never loses its power. You only have one job: to believe it.
You are a threat, but no need to feel threatened, because the greatest one of all is living in you and working for you!
Now, let’s pray.
God, thank You for reminding me that Satan attacks me because You are using me to bring glory to Your name. Even though I am a threat, and he targets me, I am grateful that You let me know that You have given me power, authority, and victory over the enemy. And no weapon formed against me will be able to prosper. No matter what comes my way, I will confidently declare that I am more than a conqueror through You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
