Date: Thursday,
June 18, 2015
Chapters: Psalms
54-58
Message Title: Fighting Off The Devil

Hello
My Friend,

Since God created man, and angles for that
matter, there has been a battle going on, a spiritual battle, one in
which we as Christians must deal with every day of our lives. It's
not always easy to deal with these battles, but thank God we do not
have to deal with them alone, we have Christ with us. “Be
merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in
thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until
these calamities be overpast. I will cry unto God most high; unto God
that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and
save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God
shall send forth his mercy and his truth.” - Psalms
57:1-3.

David knew all too well about the spiritual
battles he faced the second Samuel anointed his head with oil and
told him that he would be the next king of Israel chosen by God
Himself. Many of the Psalms he wrote were during the times when he
was running from Saul, who was set on killing him. He did not always
understand, but he did understand one thing, God would help him
through it. “Save me, O God, by thy name, and
judge me by thy strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the
words of my mouth. For strangers are risen up against me, and
oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them.
Selah. Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold
my soul.” - Psalms 54:1-4.

We may not realize it,
but the devil will use anyone to try and get us away from trusting
God, family, friends, and even people we do not know. If he can take
the least bit of doubt and use it against us, he will, and he won't
stop until he sees our faith in God increase. “Do
ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth
in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith,
God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you.” - James 4:5-7.

Of course, David got
discouraged sometimes, especially when it seemed he never got any
relief from those set out to get him. And he was sure to let God know
that he was discouraged. “Give ear to my
prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto
me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; Because
of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked:
for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. My heart
is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon
me. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell:
for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. As for me, I
will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning,
and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against
me: for there were many with me. Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and
he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be
moved.” - Psalms 55:1-4,15-18,22.

God wants to
hear our complaints, He wants to know how we feel all the time. Of
course, He already knows, but He wants to hear us speaking to Him
directly. We truly cannot have peace in our souls until we walk daily
with Him and talk to Him all day long. There is something about
telling Him how we feel that takes a huge weight off our backs, and
believe it or not, helps us cope with what is going on. The best way
to defeat the devil is to talk to God all day long, He will give us
the strength and wisdom we need to handle them. “Now
I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences
contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For
they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own
belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the
simple. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad
therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that
which is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace shall
bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you. Amen.” - Romans 16:17-20.

When
it seems like everyone is against us, we must remember one thing,
it's God they have the problem with not us. When we walk with Christ
daily, we change, and believe it or not, people see their sins in
themselves as His light shines through us, and we do not even have to
mention Him. Unfortunately, since they have no one else to pick on,
they turn to us, but we do not have to live in fear of them, God is
with us. “What time I am afraid, I will trust
in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I
will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Every day they wrest my
words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather
themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when
they wait for my soul. When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies
turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his
word: in the LORD will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust:
I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.” - Psalms
56:3-6,9-11.

Since Christ came to earth there has been a
battle for the devil to destroy every person who professes their
faith in Christ. The truth is, until Christ returns, God's people
will always be in danger of losing their lives for their faith, but
we cannot live in fear of them, God will take care of us, even if
that means He brings us home sooner than we would like. We must
realize that the life these people were living was no life that God
would want them to live, they were in pain well before their untimely
death. God's judgment will be upon them all, He is saving His people
from being in the middle of it all. We must never let those who are
led by the devil to defeat us, no matter who he uses, God is always
with us and will protect us one way or another. Trust in God and He
will deliver us from all evil. “Therefore we
are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the
body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by
sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from
the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that,
whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive
the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether
it be good or bad.” - 2 Corinthians 5:6-10.

Today's
Prayer: God, Whenever things start to become chaotic and
even the people in my life start giving me a hard time I stop to
think who it really is, the devil. I know that You allow him to
afflict me just enough to keep me faithful to You, but sometimes my
faith is not so strong and he defeats me. Lord, give me Your power
and strength to fight off the devil, put Your hedge of protection
around me, and let me not be able to jump it. Help me to endure the
struggles I face so that I can be victorious in You. In Jesus' name,
Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for
you,
Christina

Subscribe:
Daily
Devotion
Ready To Follow Jesus?:
God's Price
Visit
Our Website: I'm
Following Jesus
Like Us On
Facebook: I'm
Following Jesus
Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus,
All rights reserved.