Devotionals
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of God.
I kept coming back to this title, Battle of the Mind, and didn’t know what to say next. Ok, we identify that we are all full if sin, we are wicked. What next? Then I remembered Paul once again. Moses also comes to mind. They fought with fear; one of Satans most powerful weapons. If he can get us to doubt God and to fear what He says to do he has won. Think about it. Think what Moses had to have been going through. He had been raised as the Prince of Egypt! He knew royalty and all it’s rich benefits. Who in their right mind would step down off of that exalted platform and into a dangerous world of unknown?
It’s the person who God has been knocking on the door without relenting. If we know God asks us to do something, we are not going to be at peace UNTIL we do what God says. You and I both say this all the time. “But how! I don’t see God! How can I trust Him when He asks me to do something that is something I'm incapable of doing?!”
--Ephesians 6:16-17 “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
How do we fight back all the fear, how do we take captive all the thoughts that say “Forget God! This is foolishness!”
Hebrews 11:24-27 “By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasure of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” By the way, my Bible is saying that “looked” in this verse literally means “to look away from everything else in order to look intently on one object.” Moses took his eyes off of all the wealth of Egypt and placed them on a Messianic future.
“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” There! That is how we fight. That is how we win! That is what the real battle in the mind is fought over - Faith! Trusting that God will do what He has promised even when we cannot see the future and cannot even see God!
Illustration time: I was in...I forget what grade. I think it was 11th grade. I was taking Public Speaking and yes, I flunked it big time. I took 2 years of Public Speaking and I flunked each time. When I was a senior, I was being mostly home schooled and finally passed. But in 11th grade, one project we had to do was dig up some information on something and talk about it for 10 minutes.
Nobody ever expected me to stand up because I never did. But I did the research for the speech. I didn’t expect I would get up there of course. I never had before. But I loved what I had written out. It was on the culture of Scotland! I love Scotland! It is so awesome!
Well, the day came. My teacher looked at me and she goes, “Are you going to do this Andy?”
Prior to all of this, in my mind I’m laughing at myself thinking, you NUT! NO WAY! I mean...10 minutes?! That is like forever for me! How can I stand up and speak for 10 minutes?
God is funny, know that? He must really have a sense of humor. He wanted me to do it. He would NOT let go. This was only 1 year after I stopped trying to kill myself. I’m going, what are you doing Lord? You know I can’t do this! WRONG WORDS....I shouldn’t have said that. Because I knew His immediate response.
“That is why I want you to do this! For you to know it was not you...”
Well you figured it out. I prayed and prayed and I got out of my seat, papers trembling in my hands like an earthquake had finally reached Michigan. I get up in front of that class...and I spoke 14 minutes! 4 minutes more than I was suppose to! I almost got in trouble because we weren’t suppose to go over 15 minutes! I sit back down and I’m like......wow... I’m glad I’m not the only one who does that. Do you know what really shamed me though and still does?
2 Corinthians 10:10-11 “For his letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.”
You would never think by what Paul preaches so strongly on that he is terrified at the same time.
2 Corinthians 11:6-7 “Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things. Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?”
A commentary says that Paul’s trade as a tent maker (Acts 18:3) was held in low esteem by Greeks. Think of it. Here is Paul. He cannot speak very well. He came to preach in fear...
1 Corinthians 2:2-5 “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear and trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
He overcame fear, he fought against the urge to run as Satan wants us to do all the time when God says “I want you to do this for me.” How? Hebrews Faith chapter, that’s how. He took the first step, and God did miracle after miracle. It is when we are the weakest that God is raised above all else where nobody can question if it’s me or God speaking.
~Andrew Nusz~
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