Choose Love (24 page)

“Cease from anger
, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm” (Psalm 37:8).

It’s easy to let ourselves be overwhelmed by how evil is prospering today, but if we choose instead to trust in the Lord, do good and delight ourselves in Him, commit our lives to Him, rest and wait patiently for Him, and not let ourselves be consumed with anger, we will live with our mind, emotions, deepest thoughts, and spiritual self focused entirely on Him and loving Him with all our heart.

Our anger does not produce God’s righteousness; only our love does
.

In these days that are becoming more and more evil, draw even closer to God. Proclaim Him as your Lord and Master. Recognize all the good in your life and your world that would not exist without Him. Say, “You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You” (Psalm 16:2). Enjoy God’s people. “As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight” (Psalm 16:3).

Don’t covet what evil people acquire. “A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked” (Psalm 37:16).

You have more important things to do.

God Has Delivered You from Fear of the Enemy

One of the reasons we have an enemy is
because
we are the Lord’s. That’s why we can not only ask God to deliver us from the enemy’s evil plans, but also to keep us from even the
fear
of the enemy. David prayed, “
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy
.
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked
” (Psalm 64:1-2).

David knew who was on his side. He said, “If it had not been the L
ORD
who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us; then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
the stream would have gone over our soul
” (Psalm 124:2-4).

You need to know who is on your side too. It should never be that the fear of the enemy overwhelms your soul.

Remember this: God is all-powerful. He cannot create anything that is more powerful than He is. It’s impossible. Don’t be tricked by dumb questions about such things asked by people who want to make Christians look stupid. The enemy is nowhere near as powerful as God and never will be. The enemy’s power comes only by people believing his lies instead of
God’s truth
.

Because we love God, we choose to serve
Him
and not the enemy. David said, “The L
ORD
is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The L
ORD
is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
…
Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear
; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident” (Psalm 27:1,3).

David knew God would hide and protect him.

The enemy will always try to stop everything the Lord wants to do in you and in your life. Don’t be afraid. Hide yourself in the Lord in prayer, worship, and in His Word. If the attack on you is big, your blessing on the other side of it will surely be big as well. The challenges you face moving into the promised land of where God is leading you will work in you the faith and strength to thrive in it. Our weakest moments can precede God’s greatest work in our lives.
These times of enemy attack will only increase your trust in the Lord and the peace He gives you.

God Will Protect You from the Purveyors of Evil

Jesus triumphed over the enemy. Now the power in you is greater than the power of evil.

Yes, there have been evil things done by people who called themselves Christians—such as in the Holocaust and slavery—but those were not Christians. They were not people who received Jesus and all that He did on the cross, and were filled with the Spirit of wisdom, comfort, and love that Jesus gives those who love Him. They did not love God above all else and seek to be led by Him every day.

Not even close!

The people who did those things were not empowered and moved by the love of God. The fragrance and beauty of the Lord was not in them. They were lovers of themselves and purveyors of evil. They sold their hearts to the enemy of God and His ways and served the enemy and themselves entirely. There is no excuse or justification for it that even remotely aligns itself with God in any way. It is in stark and brutal opposition to all that God is. What they did is ugly and has the stench of evil.

Godly people are motivated by God’s love in what they do. Evil people reveal themselves by their lack of love.

You can always tell the people who are standing on a foundation of straw in their beliefs—who have left God out of their “religions” by the way they attack God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. They vilify believers, they mock God, and they turn all their efforts toward destroying God’s name and His people. Not all religions are the same. You can’t lump them all together and say they are all bad or all good. That reveals the immense ignorance of those who do that. But you can look around you, and if you see that a person, or a group of people, is trying to destroy those who don’t believe the way they do, then you will understand that they are on shaky ground in their
belief system. They know it, and that’s why they have to destroy those who are not with them. You see that cruelty in dictators and leaders of false religions.

Check out those who try to destroy all knowledge of God. When you identify such people who do that, they are always godless. They are serving the evil and dark realm.

People who serve the dark side have to eliminate those who serve in the light. When you see people trying to eliminate anyone who disagrees or opposes them, that is a sign they are serving the dark and evil side and serving up a lie for their own benefit. They believe that in order for them to rule and prevail, they must eliminate the truth.

Just as the law of gravity is true everywhere, so are God’s laws. Natural laws are set up by God, and His laws are true in every country and town. It is always wrong to violate any of His laws and commands because consequences are built into them. If you see a people rejecting God’s laws as stated in the Bible, they are not of God.

God created you with a will, and you must make choices as to who you will and will not serve. Whether you think so or not, you will serve the dark forces of evil if you are not deliberately and actively serving the Lord. Not believing in the Lord puts you in an unbelieving fog. You don’t see anything straight. You are influenced most by the loudest voice defying God.

But if you love and serve God, and express your love for Him by separating yourself from all evil and resisting the advance of evil in prayer and action, you are protected. You do not need to fear being bought off by the enemy in any way when you are already sold out to God.

Prayer of Love

L
ORD
, help me to express my love for You by separating myself completely from anything that is not pleasant in Your sight. If the enemy of my soul has anything in me, reveal it to me now so I can be free of any influence he may have. If I have in any way attached my heart or thoughts to his ways—or have been drawn away from Your kingdom—show me so I can repent of it and come back to You and under Your protective covering.

Enable me to stand strong in resisting the enemy so he will flee from me. I will not look to any person to be my savior “for the help of man is useless” if not led by You (Psalm 108:12). Against the enemy, no one can do what You do. That’s why my eyes are always on You (Psalm 25:15). Thank You, Jesus, that You have defeated the enemy and put him under Your feet. Help me to take up the shield of faith in You that protects me from enemy attack (Ephesians 6:16). “For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. In Your mercy cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul; for I am Your servant” (Psalm 143:11-12).

Help me to resist all temptation to live as those who serve the enemy. When tempted, I will worship You because praise invites Your presence in a powerful way and the enemy hates it. Thank You that You are on my side and I need not fear what man can do to me (Psalm 118:6). Thank You that Your commandments “make me wiser than my enemies” (Psalm 119:98). Thank You that no weapon of the enemy formed against me will prosper (Isaiah 54:17).

In Jesus’ name I pray.

Words of Love

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the L
ORD
will lift up a standard against him.

I
SAIAH
59:19

By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me. As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever.

P
SALM
41:11-12

Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 J
OHN
5:4-5

For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more…But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

P
SALM
37:10-11

When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me.

P
SALM
56:9

14

Long for His Will and His Presence Continuously

S
omething happens to our mind, soul, and spirit when we come to the point where we not only long for a deeper level of relationship with God but know we can’t live without it. We finally realize that only He can fill the empty space in us and don’t want to waste any more of our time looking in other places. We come to the end of ourselves and don’t want to live one moment outside of His will. We’ve already tried that and proven it doesn’t work.

Once we’ve made that major decision to go deeper with the Lord and there is no turning back, our lives will never be the same. We know too much to question His absolute importance in our life.

At this point there are two things you must have:

1. The knowledge that you are living in the center of God’s will.

2. The sense that you are in His presence.

Having this knowledge and sense every day is like food for your soul. It feeds you with a fullness only He can give you. When we love God enough to want His presence and perfect will in our lives at all times, it’s because we understand that if we don’t have that, then we are not as close to Him as we can be.