Message of Encouragement Monday (MOEM #026):
Have you ever come into contact with someone who seems hellbent on stirring up trouble? If it’s a peaceful day with no drama, some people just can’t handle that. They have to find a way to stir the pot; they will go into the kitchen and “cook something up” in order to create an argument or some sort of division or controversy in their environment. They often want to come against people and oppose others, even on meaningless or trivial topics. And some people take it to the extreme and try to harm others; not just stirring up drama, but they actually want to inflict harm and hurt onto you.
Well, the Bible talks about this. There are verses that refer to people like this as “workers of iniquity” (Luke 23:34; Psalm 5:5). But, the Bible also tells us who is behind this kind of behavior and it tells us how to respond to people who behave this way. First, Ephesians Chapter 6 makes it clear that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against dark forces and spiritual wickedness that is not human (Ephesians 6:12). The devil himself tries to orchestrate and drum up opposition against those who love and seek to follow God. To put it simply, the devil manipulates people to behave badly; to behave like him. He tries to influence people to behave in ways that are not in accordance with God’s ways.
In Paul’s 2nd letter to Timothy, he drove home this point even further. He illustrates the devil’s manipulation of unwitting people, but he also tells us how to respond to such people. Let’s look at 2 Timothy 2:25-26. The gravity of these verses hit me hard when a friend pointed them out to me recently. Paul writes the following:
Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
And there you have it. The devil wants to “take people captive” to do his will; to do his work in this world. He wants to recruit and create an army of people, demons, and principalities that will work against God and against God’s plans. But, you also sense Paul’s compassion here for those under the influence of the devil; those workers of iniquity. Paul should know – he was once one himself! But, now He has hope that they will one day come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap. He desires that God would grant them repentance and show them the truth.
Our job is to stay close to God, to know God. When we walk with God, we will understand His ways and His will. We will be on the right side of these manipulations; we will be several steps ahead of the devil and his traps. His manipulations will be clear to us. We will know right away when something is from God and when it is not. This is how we defeat the manipulations of the devil. We then also position ourselves to go on the offensive; to “gently instruct” those who are being manipulated; to pray that God would grant them repentance and that they would come to their senses.
Don’t forget God today!
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