November #jammed: Gracious.
Day 330: Thankful for podcasts.
“You’re all God all of the time …and I just don’t know how I feel about it.”
The first thing I did with my miraculously healed self was train it for a marathon. Along the way, I listened to podcasts …mostly from the orange Elevation Church app. It became a crucial part of my training alongside gel packets and water stops. Those long runs fed my soul and changed my heart. There was no going back. Even after I failed to make it to the starting line, I continued to change. But not everyone understood. Today’s verse reminds us to stay focused on Him as we experience growing pains.
My God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
He is my refuge, my savior,
the one who saves me from violence. 2 Samuel 22:3
The last stanza of this verse caught my eye. “The one who saves me from violence.” As I read through the rest of Chapter 22, it caught my eye again.
He is the God who pays back those who harm me;
he brings down the nations under me
and delivers me from my enemies.
You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;
you save me from violent opponents. 2 Samuel 22:48-49
“You save me from violent opponents.” The author of these verses, King David, had violent opponents. People were out to kill him. Family members had been out to kill him. King Saul had been out to kill him. Goliath the giant tried to kill him. He had violent opponents!
But so do we. Just as God protected David and gave him victory in all of those situations, the devil stands behind the scenes scheming. Not powerful enough to trump God, but deviously making life as miserable as it can be to live on this earth.
The violent enemy in our life is Satan, and he will use whomever he can to chip away at our confidence in Christ.
violent: (1) marked by the use of usually harmful or destructive physical force a (2) extremely powerful or forceful and capable of causing damage. (Merriam Webster)
If the soundtrack of our lives is set to His Truth, we can see beyond surface-level conflict. By setting our default to Jesus before digesting a verbal attack, we remind ourselves who we are …and Whose we are. Once we believe in Jesus, our souls are sealed. The devil can only mess. But that mess hurts, and it can turn us on our heals to run …or bow down under pressure ..unless we hold onto today’s verse.
“God is my rock.”
Not our husbands, not our children, not our friendships, nor our churches, and not ourselves. The conflict in our relationships goes far beyond human misunderstanding. There is a greater force of evil behind it. Don’t feed him.
Father, Praise You for Your steadfast love. Thank You for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. In You, we have a firm foundation …and immovable rock. Forgive us for the times the devil tricks us and turns us …and bless our hearts to be able to discern, through Your Holy Spirit in us, when we are under attack. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Rock-ing,
Megs
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