Don't Quit

        I recently read there are two times when the devil attacks us – when we’re doing everything wrong and when we’re doing everything right.

        Take the apostle Paul for instance. In Acts 27, as a prisoner, he was getting a free boat ride to Rome to stand before the emperor, courtesy of the Roman government. At a place called Fair Havens, he told the Roman officer over him it wasn’t a good idea to leave port at that time because it wasn’t safe. The captain of the ship didn’t care what Paul thought and sailed for open water.

        You know the story. They ran into a hurricane force storm, were shipwrecked, and landed on the island of Malta. All 276 on the ship made it safely to shore. Just when it seemed everything was going well, while helping to build a fire, a snake bit Paul. Talk about having a bad day.

      What did Paul do? He shook the viper off. Everyone watched to see what would happen to him. They thought he was a criminal who had escaped the sea, only to be punished by God through a snake bite. They were amazed when he didn’t swell up and die. They quickly changed their tune and said that rather than being a criminal, he must be a god (verse 6).

       Be assured, dear friend, that when Satan bites you, people are watching. Will you swell up and die, or will you shake it off? Thoughts will swirl through your head. What am I going to do now? How will I survive? It’s what you do with those thoughts that’s important. Will you listen to the lies of Satan or stand on the Word of God?

      Paul knew he served a God Who raises the dead. In 2 Corinthians he wrote, “In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9 NLT).
 
       Don’t forget, the battle with Satan is fought in our minds. His goal is to silence us, wear us out, render us useless. BUT, “we are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours” (2 Corinthians 4:7 TPT).

         Did you catch that? As born-again believers, God has deposited in us an “overflow of power” to be seen in our marriages, finances, homes, and relationships. Jesus has put His resources inside of us.

          Don’t let Satan have his way in your life. When under attack, double up on the Word of God. Scuba divers have to equalize the pressure in their heads to counteract the pressure of the water when they go to different depths. We have to counteract the pressure of the devil by increasing the Word of God that’s inside us.

       Paul wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NIV). 
          So, when Satan sends a snake to bite you, stand on the Word of God. Continue to believe its truth when everything and everyone tells you you’re finished. Rise up in faith. Let God’s Word ascend within you to overcome Satan’s pressure. Don’t quit.
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(Thank you to Dennis Burke of Dennis Burke Ministries in Arlington, Texas for ideas regarding this blog in his article, “Shake It Off!” in The Believer’s Voice of Victory, February, 2023 magazine, pages 22-24.)