November 2 Thought for the day....let nothing stop you

If there is anything I really get frustrated about it is Christians that act like the devil is more powerful than God. I also get frustrated about those that blame the devil for decisions they make in the flesh that cause them heartache and trouble. Today I want to deal with the former, the devil is a fallen angel, and as such he maintains the authority he was given as an angel, but the authority we have in Christ is far greater, it is not even a competition.

"We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us." 1 Thessalonians 2:18

Well, this seems to say that Satan is relatively powerful that he could stop Paul from his work. The question we need to answer is, did he? Jesus told us that Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but that Jesus came to give life, abundantly. Jesus, trumping Satan again.

The word used here for "prevented" means to tear up a road to make it impassible. Paul used the tense of this word to show that while he may have been inconvenienced by the enemy, the enemy could not stop God's plans for him.

Paul had a situation that happened in Ephesus (Acts 19,20) where a riot broke out threatening many of the leaders, to the point where Paul was unable to minister. Many Christians finding themselves in the same situation would have been whining, crying, feeling sorry for themselves. Paul didn't go there, he knew God had called him to accomplish a great task. He didn't give credence to the attack of the enemy rather he, through wisdom and prayer, found a solution to his problem and did it and God's purpose for Paul was accomplished.

Why should we get upset, whine, complain, or even stop what we are doing because the devil gets in the way? If you are going to do anything for God, the devil is going to get in our way. He will lie, try to deceive, try to bring fear, insecurities, whatever he can do to stop us. As Christians we have to recognize the devil is a failure and if God has called us to a task, we are to let nothing stop us. If we come to a hindrance, look for a way around it. God will show you a better idea than you thought. That worked for Paul all of the time and will work for you too!