We have big problems these days, and it’s not just on a micro level, but on a macro one. We’re seeing the enemy’s plots on a very large scale and his tactic of divisiveness and lies is more transparent than ever. But society is revealing to us that there are very few people with their eyes open, even in Christian circles. This, coupled with the toxic and taxing situations we face daily, can potentially cause some people to lose heart. It can be nerve-racking when there are so many moving parts, and we don’t know what’s coming at us next, but Heavenly Father has a remedy. Through the Apostle Paul, He tells us in Galatians 5:1(MSG), “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” We are to take a stand for God! He has called us to be lights in a world enslaved by darkness, and we must not allow anyone to put a yoke of bondage around our necks again.
The absolute most deceptive plot against the believer is to get us to turn our focus away from the goodness of God and place it on the havoc the devil is strewing up. Through the Apostle Paul, God tells us in 2Corinthians 4:4(NLT), ‘Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” Understand that everything that comes from the devil is filled with darkness; and therefore, ignorance is also going to be a side-dish in this destructive concoction, because ignorance and darkness are one and the same.
In Hosea 4:6, Heavenly Father reminds us that ignorance abides in darkness and destruction. He tells us, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” As God’s people, we can be destroyed by what we refuse to know. So, when a person’s mind is blinded, it means they are ignorant to what is really going on. It means their beliefs have been altered by the devil to such a degree that their thoughts are dark. And because their thoughts are dark, the circumstances that surround their existence is dark. This creates a vicious negative cycle. It constantly rotates negative situations and circumstances that go hand in hand with a person’s negative thoughts. This keeps a person down. It keeps a person bound. And it keeps a person’s neck under satan’s foot.
Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as a person thinks in their hearts, so is he or she. This is not referring to cursory or fleeting thoughts. This verse is conveying the seriousness of thoughts that have made their way passed the mind and into the heart. Thinking from the heart suggests thoughts that are part of a habit pattern. So much so, that they influence and dictate our actions. Thoughts from a person’s heart identify who the person really is. So, if we allow darkness to dominate our thinking, speaking, and behaving, whose kingdom are we identifying with? Not Heavenly Father’s Kingdom, for His Kingdom is love, light, liberty, and life.
Let us not forget that all it took was a split second for Adam and Eve to forget who they were. They were tricked by a lie camouflaged as a question, and they lost everything because of this. The distractions in our world today are as alarming and maniacal as they are numerous, but we can’t allow them to steal the focus of our thoughts. Likewise, the plots and twists that are happening in our own lives are a trip as well. Betrayals, losses, and disappointments in our family, home, communities of faith; the enemy is throwing everything but the kitchen sink to throw us off the path and get us to abdicate our call.
One of the things that must never leave our minds is that the bigger the plot of the enemy, the bigger the reward that is slated to come our way. This is why he’s trying so hard to distract us and get us off track; so that we will not receive this blessing, but instead cower in fear and let darkness cloud our judgment, attitudes, thoughts, and conversations. We cannot remain blind to this treacherous plot, because if we do, we’ll get caught up in the tornado, instead of being covered in God’s peace and waiting for the change a tornado always brings.
Jesus Christ said in John 8:32 that knowing the truth is what makes us free. We have been saved by God’s grace, and He has adopted us into His family. We are not children of the world. Ephesians 5:8 tells us that we were once a part of satan’s dark kingdom, but now we are lights in the Lord. God commands us to walk as children of light, to walk in the liberty that Christ has made available to us through his sacrifice and resurrection. Even though we are surrounded by darkness, as the psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:45, we can walk in freedom because we have devoted ourselves in obedience to God. His mercies are new every morning, and we should arise with a desire to rededicate ourselves to His Word and Will every day.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Truly Walking in Freedom” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.