Encouragement
Wise Men Seek Him - Part 2 - (Matthew 2:3-5 & 7-8)
“When Herod the king heard this he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet.”
Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
“Herod” gets “troubled” when he sees the children of God blessed, and experiencing His favor. He tries to gather people or situations against us. He tries to discourage, derail and distract, but God always has a plan. He is always streets ahead of the enemy! Today’s eWord carries 2 simple ways we can walk wisely and in victory in the coming year.
1) Exercise Discretion. From this passage of Scripture, we can see how king Herod tried to get information about the whereabouts of the baby Jesus by questioning first the Jewish leaders and then the wise men, who he met in secret. We may think that the enemy knows our future and our plans, but it is quite likely that he would not have much information about us apart from what we make known. Believers announce their whereabouts, plans and opinions to others all the time, especially on social networks, not realizing that they are releasing intelligence into the hands of their foe. He is handed on a platter details he would not have otherwise known, which he can use to hinder and hamper us! The Lord Jesus cautioned us to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16) and I believe He is calling us to walk in discretion during this end time hour. Our battle is very real, but He is on our side, and when we abide in His Word and hide in Him, we are always safe.
2) Identify Deception. Herod lied to the wise men, pretending that he wanted to worship the baby Jesus too and they probably believed him, until they were later divinely warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. The enemy does the same to us all the time, trying to get us to believe the worst about ourselves, our situations, about the opinions of others and about how God sees us and feels about us. If we listened to the voice of the devil and believed him, we would never get anywhere, but praise God for a stronger voice within our hearts – the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Lord longs for us to begin to listen to the voice of the Spirit and cut off the voice of the enemy. The more we listen to the enemy, the more we may be inclined to believe his lies; and when we believe his lies, we come into agreement with him. When we agree with the devil we empower him against us.
Many of us may be wondering why we experience a lot of attack, but it could be simply because we have been making it easy for the enemy by giving him too much information. It could also be because we have been listening more to the lies of the enemy than to the Truth of God’s Word. Dear friend, let me exhort you to toss out of your mind whatever does not align with the Word, or with what God says about you. Fill yourself instead with the living Word, as often as you can, and begin to declare it each time those negative thoughts pop up. You are on the winning team! The devil has lied and cheated, and used people in your life to do the same, but no more! Decide that it is going to be different in the new year. Decide that you are crossing over to a new place in your walk with God – a place of victory, revelation and power. Daddy God has good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11) and those good plans are what you are stepping into, starting today. You are a victor and an overcomer and you are heading for higher ground!
I pray today that the lies of the enemy will be broken off your mind and off your life, and that you will be filled with the living truth of God’s Word, which tells you how loved and cherished you are. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill and overflow you. May He extend His mantle of protection over you and cover you with His Holy presence. May He take you to the deeper waters and higher ground He has for you, in Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
Minoli Haththotuwa
www.risingonwings.org
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