There is an excerpt from her book worth reading on the net. The only thing I'm not satisfied with is that there is teaching about the devil that glorifies the devil and makes the devil out to be more powerful than God. I don't think that's what Joyce intended in writing this chapter, and you need to read the whole book to get what she's saying, but when I was under attack, that's sort of how this chapter came across.
And it's not the first time this kind of teaching has come across this way. She says that the devil has a lot of patience and has been studying us and has plenty of time to finally defeat each one of us. Yes, but A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. And the bottom line is this, I discovered. If we learn to submit to God, then we can resist the devil, in that order.
One thing I heard is that the devil preys upon people who don't have patience. He promises toys to people who wants things right now. That's why teens are more likely victims of the enemy, because they lack patience. I learned that witchcraft is a temptation because of impatience. It is a promise to get things in the here and now instead of waiting. So, a strategy against the enemy is patience. As we grow in patience we grow stronger against the enemy.
Joyce has some good things to say about how reading the Word, prayer and praise can help you to defeat the devil. But I think that my struggle has been to submit to God, who is definitely more powerful than the devil. In submitting to God, I definitely have the power to resist the devil.
The great thing about God is He hides Himself and His power. He shows up at the last hour. He is working when you don't see it. In China, tens of thousands have been turning to him under the noses of the communists because they can't stop it. The radical Muslims can't stop Him. But God allows things to look hopeless for a while, and to work in humble, weak vessels. We can't allow what is true about God to glorify the devil. The devil will try to use the mysteries of God to tell us that God isn't working. It's like the prophets of Baal and Elijah. They said, "see, God isn't doing anything!" Until all of a sudden God consumed Elijah's altar with fire. In America, we can become oblivious to God's power as well.
But the way that God works so mysteriously, it is his craft and power that are great!
7 comments:
I liked your comment about the fact that God works when we don't see it.
Why don't we see it?
Could it be that we're looking for the wrong thing? We like to see the supernatural, the miracles, the 'signs,' and all of those other very obvious signs. This is exactly what people in Jesus' day did. They were constantly asking Him to 'show them a sign' or some such thing. They wanted to see the big, overwhelming display of God's power. But that wasn't really the way that He wanted to bring in the Kingdom of God; instead, He humbled Himself, became a servant, died for those who crucified Him, and then sent a bunch of normal people to expand His kingdom. Totally contrary to what any of us would probably do.
Are you trying to tell me something?
Just kidding.
Hiya! We're actually going through the teen version of this book in our youth group right now. Pretty good stuff!
Hey1 Didn't know there was a teen version.
No, I'm not trying to be difficult. Rather, I think the most compelling witness happens when believers do what they're supposed to -- serve, sacrifice, and show Calvary-quality love.
I agree with you Bill. Jesus humbled Himself, humbled Himself again, and again and again. So should we be surprised that His miracles also came across humble and discrete? The religious people looked for a sign, the intellectuals sought out really smart things, but we seek humility and self-sacrifice, to the really religious a stumbling stone, and to the really smart people foolishness. But to us who really have faith in Jesus, the humility of God's work is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
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