When we start this journey of following Jesus, we need to understand that we have an enemy (satan). He will try every tactic to get us off the journey, distract us on the journey, and get us to give up following Jesus.
We see this was the tactic from the Garden of Eden to Staten Island today. The enemy does not want us to follow Jesus. He comes in ways we are not expecting and wants us to get our eyes off of following Jesus.
Genesis shows us his tactic: Genesis 3:1 – “The serpent (Satan) was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day, he asked the woman, “DID GOD REALLY SAY YOU….must not eat the fruit from any of the trees of the garden?”
We need to realize that the enemy wants us to begin to DOUBT what God’s Word says. The Lord told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But the enemy tries to tempt us to doubt the Word of God.
It is the same tactic that the enemy uses against us to get us to DOUBT GOD AND HIS WORD!
How many of us begin to doubt the Word of God?
Questions like: Am I saved? Can you go supply for me? Is God going to heal me? Am I really going to heaven? If God is so good, why are you serving Him with all that is happening in your life?
Doubts are a tactic of the enemy; that is why we must choose to know and use the Word of God against the enemy’s tactics! If I know how the enemy works, I know how to confront the enemy – the same way that Jesus did.
When Jesus was tempted, satan used the Word out of context, but Jesus knew the Word and quoted the Word to defeat the enemy. The same thing we need to use to conquer every temptation thrown at us.
“Lord, help me to know and stand upon Your Word, when the enemy tries to distract and defeat me!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Church (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is getting rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.
