When you take the Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), part of the Armor of God and given to every believer (Ephesians 6:17), you have everything you need to defeat Satan, as he seeks to cause you to give in to the fourth most common fear, the fear of death/dying.
When you know what the Word of God has to say about death, you will feel reassurance, and you will have the arsenal you need to speak to the enemy and watch him retreat. You are not alone. The psalmist tells us, and it is true, that "The Lord's eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine" (Psalm 33:18-19).
Even if you're given a terminal diagnosis, as was Hezekiah in Isaiah 38:1-5, you can call on God for help, as did Hezekiah. He "prayed to the LORD, [saying,] 'Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in Your eyes.' And Hezekiah wept bitterly." Notice that Hezekiah lived a life in line with God's Word. "Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: 'Go and tell Hezekiah...I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add 15 years to your life." When Satan whispers, "You're going to die," you tell him, "Let's see what God has to say!"
God says, "The number of your days I will fulfill" (Exodus 23:26). This is a promise to those who worship Him wholeheartedly (Exodus 23:24-25). God says, "With long life will I satisfy [the one who loves Me] and show him my salvation" (Psalm 91:16). When Satan tries to present you with the fear of death/dying, you tell him, "I love and worship God. He knows the exact number of days I will live, and He's promised it will be a long, satisfying life, so you have no say so in the matter. Get behind me, Satan!"
I Corinthians 15:56-58 [NIV]
"The sting of death is sin... But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm..."
What this has to do with weight loss: Through Jesus' death on the Cross, we have spiritual and physical victory over sin, even the sin of gluttony, which caused us to put on many pounds of pain and resulted in many physical and emotional consequences. Through Jesus, and as a true believer, you have ultimate victory on your weight-loss journey. May that encourage you to "stand firm," when you experience the occasional slip or stall.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I thank You that through the death of Your Son and my Savior, Jesus Christ, I have victory over sin, no matter the sin, no matter the consequence of the sin. How I praise You for that! The enemy would have me believe that he has the power to bury me, but as Your child, as someone who loves You and lives for You, I have You on my side. How I praise You for that! Give me the courage and the boldness to claim and proclaim Your promises of long life, whenever the enemy comes to me with the fear of death/dying, for Your Word is greater than his word. In Jesus' Name. Amen."
Go forth today, speaking God's powerful Word, knowing that the enemy's scheme to put fear of death/dying on you will be defeated.
Showing posts with label fear of death or dying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fear of death or dying. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Life Plan Devotion #96 [God's Armor--Helment of Salvation, Part XIV]
The enemy doesn't have to do much more than whisper, "You're going to die!" and pair it with a potentially-serious situation, and, chances are, you will give in to the fear of death/dying. I know that has been true in my life.
I was chloroformed and raped, at the age of 15. When the memories came back, so did the fear of death. Even though the repressed memories had caused me to suffer from depression and panic attacks for more than 3 decades, I never had another panic attack after my memory was restored. While I definitely had issues to work on, to work out, to work through, I no longer feared death/dying. The reason was twofold--I realized that I had not been alone for that dark time in my life, and the enemy had not won!
King David understood danger and fear of death, as he experienced it many times. He prayed, "My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest'" (Psalm 55:4-6). Even David, the one who, as a boy, killed a giant with a slingshot and a stone, felt overwhelmed with fear of death, but he prayed through until he could testify to others to "Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fail" (Psalm 55:22).
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth, wrote about what he and his companions had suffered. He said, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered... We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death." Paul gives some perspective, though, to those difficult times, as he goes on to say, "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us" (II Corinthians 1:8-10).
When you know and trust the One with Resurrection Power, fear of death/dying will no longer have a hold on you.
Psalm 56:13 [NIV]
"You have delivered my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life."
What this has to do with weight loss: Our soul encompasses our mind, will, and emotions. When weighed down with many pounds of pain, death encompasses our soul, to the point where we think about it, we do the things that will bring it on prematurely, and we experience all the emotions attached with fearing a death at the hands of gluttony (our own hands). We made many attempts at fighting the fear, at making the changes necessary to turn the situation around, yet we stumbled over and over. Then God delivered us, through weight-loss surgery, and now He is helping us to keep from stumbling. The reason is so that we will live and walk before Him in the light of LIFE.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, no matter how the enemy will try to place fear of death/dying upon me, I thank You that I am never alone--You are with me always--and THE ENEMY WILL NOT WIN. You are my Deliverer, and may I walk before You in the light of life. I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen."
Go forth today, trusting in the One who gave you the Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) to remind you that He can and will deliver you from the fear of death/dying.
I was chloroformed and raped, at the age of 15. When the memories came back, so did the fear of death. Even though the repressed memories had caused me to suffer from depression and panic attacks for more than 3 decades, I never had another panic attack after my memory was restored. While I definitely had issues to work on, to work out, to work through, I no longer feared death/dying. The reason was twofold--I realized that I had not been alone for that dark time in my life, and the enemy had not won!
King David understood danger and fear of death, as he experienced it many times. He prayed, "My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest'" (Psalm 55:4-6). Even David, the one who, as a boy, killed a giant with a slingshot and a stone, felt overwhelmed with fear of death, but he prayed through until he could testify to others to "Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fail" (Psalm 55:22).
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth, wrote about what he and his companions had suffered. He said, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered... We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death." Paul gives some perspective, though, to those difficult times, as he goes on to say, "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us" (II Corinthians 1:8-10).
When you know and trust the One with Resurrection Power, fear of death/dying will no longer have a hold on you.
Psalm 56:13 [NIV]
"You have delivered my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life."
What this has to do with weight loss: Our soul encompasses our mind, will, and emotions. When weighed down with many pounds of pain, death encompasses our soul, to the point where we think about it, we do the things that will bring it on prematurely, and we experience all the emotions attached with fearing a death at the hands of gluttony (our own hands). We made many attempts at fighting the fear, at making the changes necessary to turn the situation around, yet we stumbled over and over. Then God delivered us, through weight-loss surgery, and now He is helping us to keep from stumbling. The reason is so that we will live and walk before Him in the light of LIFE.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, no matter how the enemy will try to place fear of death/dying upon me, I thank You that I am never alone--You are with me always--and THE ENEMY WILL NOT WIN. You are my Deliverer, and may I walk before You in the light of life. I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen."
Go forth today, trusting in the One who gave you the Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) to remind you that He can and will deliver you from the fear of death/dying.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Life Plan Devotion #95 [God's Armor--Helmet of Salvation, Part XIII]
We have looked at 3 of the top 5 most common fears used by Satan: the fear of want/lack, the fear of peril/danger, and the fear of sickness/disease. Today, let's look at the fourth most common fear used by Satan to try to discourage and defeat you, fear of death/dying.
There is a saying that "There are two sure things in life: death and taxes." Unless a believer is alive at the Rapture (when we are called away, to meet Jesus in the air), "What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?" (Psalm 89:48).
Romans 5:12 tells us, "Just as sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." Yes, we descendants of Adam share a sin nature and death (both spiritually and physically). It has been Satan's greatest work and achievement.
However, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work" (I John 3:8)! "[Jesus] shared in [our] humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Hebrews 2:14-15).
The enemy will have multiple opportunities to whisper "You're going to die," either as a result of sickness/disease or just in day-to-day living. As a believer, though, you have the Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) which give you protection from premature death, if you make use of them.
Death should not be a fearful thing, for a believer, nor should a believer be obsessed with watching or waiting for it, for, through Jesus' death on the cross, Hosea 13:14 was fulfilled, when God said, "I will ransom [my people] from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?"
Psalm 90:10 [NLT]
"The length of our days is 70 years--or 80, if we have the strength..."
What this has to do with weight loss: God has given each of us the ability to live for 70-80 years, yet, for those of us who are obese, we have significantly reduced that promised lifespan. However, just as we have negatively affected "the length of our days," we can make healthful eating and exercise changes, to positively affect how many years we will live. Either way, it's a decision each of us make. May your choices today be positive, healthy ones.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I am so grateful to You and Your Son, Jesus, for giving me, as a believer, victory over the spiritual and physical consequences of sin--death. Help me to see what Your Word has to say about death, so that I won't give in to the fear of death, that the enemy will try to bring to me. I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen."
Go forth today, choosing victory in living over fear of death.
There is a saying that "There are two sure things in life: death and taxes." Unless a believer is alive at the Rapture (when we are called away, to meet Jesus in the air), "What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?" (Psalm 89:48).
Romans 5:12 tells us, "Just as sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." Yes, we descendants of Adam share a sin nature and death (both spiritually and physically). It has been Satan's greatest work and achievement.
However, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work" (I John 3:8)! "[Jesus] shared in [our] humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Hebrews 2:14-15).
The enemy will have multiple opportunities to whisper "You're going to die," either as a result of sickness/disease or just in day-to-day living. As a believer, though, you have the Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) which give you protection from premature death, if you make use of them.
Death should not be a fearful thing, for a believer, nor should a believer be obsessed with watching or waiting for it, for, through Jesus' death on the cross, Hosea 13:14 was fulfilled, when God said, "I will ransom [my people] from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?"
Psalm 90:10 [NLT]
"The length of our days is 70 years--or 80, if we have the strength..."
What this has to do with weight loss: God has given each of us the ability to live for 70-80 years, yet, for those of us who are obese, we have significantly reduced that promised lifespan. However, just as we have negatively affected "the length of our days," we can make healthful eating and exercise changes, to positively affect how many years we will live. Either way, it's a decision each of us make. May your choices today be positive, healthy ones.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I am so grateful to You and Your Son, Jesus, for giving me, as a believer, victory over the spiritual and physical consequences of sin--death. Help me to see what Your Word has to say about death, so that I won't give in to the fear of death, that the enemy will try to bring to me. I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen."
Go forth today, choosing victory in living over fear of death.
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