Devotionals
Bible reference: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as we charged
you, so that you may command the respect of outsiders and be dependent on no one.
There are a battle and a war going on as we speak and one way to win is to live the life God called us to live. Paul is instructing us on how to live that life of holiness God wants us to live. The whole chapter is a good manual on what are acceptable ways of God. We must realize, in order to defeat the enemy and all of his tricks, we have to maintain some weapons to help us along the way. One powerful weapon is simply silence. Silence is a key force in defeating hell’s plans.
Don’t get me wrong we must speak boldly about our Lord and tell the world of his goodness, but in some circumstances, silence is the way to go. See when the enemy makes his first attack against us we must make sure we respond in the proper way. Most of us, if not all of us, tend to run the mouth and get all caught up in what just happen. I declare to you today that, if you just wait on God’s instruction you can defeat Satan a lot quicker. See, initially talking and not waiting can cause two results of the matter. One, with all the noise of you talking you won’t be able to hear God’s voice. At that very point God could be trying to tell you want to do next but the sound of your voice is keeping you from hearing his. So many times we say we want to hear from God but we don’t hear anything. Is it that he isn’t talking to us or do we not pay attention to what he is saying? So learn to be moved by the spirit and wait for a word from God. Second, talking can cause your position to given up. When God has spoken to you and told you what to do next, don’t go run tell everyone with an ear. Cause now you have put out into the atmosphere you next move. So this opens the door for Satan to attack you and cause another slump in your journey. Have you ever wondered why when God has encouraged you that things are going to get better, you seem to have a set back? Well it could be because you opened your mouth and gave up your position. So, the enemy knew exactly what to do next to stop your progress. When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you also accepted him into your heart. Which means the enemy can’t be there while God is there. With this in mind, if you keep your strategy in your heart only God knows about it. If you go tell everyone else, now the enemy knows about it. So let’s learn to be quiet, wait on God and then make our move.
We must also learn how to mind our own business. Too many times we are caught up in someone else’s affairs and we can’t take care of our own. This is another plot of the enemy to cause confusion to take place. We are suppose to help each other carry our crosses but there is a difference in being ordained to bring a change to this situation and just being nosey in someone’s business. When we are so caught up in another person’s life, we become distracted and now this leave room for the enemy to come in and stir up some trouble. Paul knew that if we are able to keep constant track of our own lives then we will be able to stop the enemy before it’s too late. Please understand that don’t mean that you can’t help anyone with their situation but learn to always be moved by the spirit and not the flesh. Satan has used good intentions for so long to bring corruption.
Learn to take control of your own life and depend on no one but the Lord. Satan can really use our goodness for our weakness. When people try to help you sometimes, they can hinder you. God from the beginning called us to work with our hands and to do his will. If you can’t be trusted to do the work of the land to provide for you and your family, how can God ever trust you to take on the responsibility of working to save souls. Paul is just reminding us of what God has instructed us to do from the beginning. When you work for what you want and do it on your own, with God’s help, you keep all of the glory and credit with God. See when it’s done and no one can say they helped you do it, then all of the praizes go to God. This causes people to respect your life and thirst for whatever you have. Then you can let them know it’s all because of Jesus Christ and lead their souls to a better place. The good thing about this is now you know all your help comes from the Lord. You no longer have to look for people when you need something, you can go directly to God and he will provide. Being totally dependent on God is the way to go. No one can hold anything over your head. Now I know you say well God uses people to do his will. Right! But the ones God uses won’t have an evil spirit and will do it out of genuine love. That’s what it’s all about, walking in love.
So remember to wait on God and never make your move without his instruction. Talking too much can cause you not to hear God and will also give up your position. Keeping it all in your heart reveals it only to God. Make sure you learn to depend on no one but the Lord. He is everything we will ever need. In him we live, we breathe, and we have our being. So walk in love and know God is awesome in every way. May the spirit of God rest, rule, and abide in us forever more. To him be all the honor and glory forever. Amen!
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