When the Enemy Does Me a Favor
Most of the time, the Enemy is a thorn in my side. He distracts me from what is good by pointing out what is bad. Because I serve the God of redemption, however, it's a waste of my time to concentrate on the mess I see all around me. God's purpose is to use our circumstances for our good (and the good of others) for His glory.
Recently, I discovered a way to thwart said Enemy's plan, and I'm just laughing hysterically. Warfare can actually be fun when you think about it this way. (Okay, warfare is serious, especially with the arch Enemy, but hang with me a minute here . . .)
This is how it goes: the Enemy points out someone else's flaw or pattern of behavior. My natural reaction is to fixate on that "problem":
Can You Relate? Yeah, I thought so.
Instead of taking this course, when the Enemy whispers evil about another person, I take it as my cue to pray for them in that weakness. See what I did there? I can turn a potentially harmful thought pattern into a glorious use of knowledge by partnering with God in His will for that person! Here's how it works:
Easy Peasy!
Now I get to participate in Kingdom activity by doing what God made me to do: intercede for my siblings in Christ. The information that could have been used for evil is now being used for good!
I want loving friends like this – when they see my flaws, they pray to God on my behalf to strengthen my weaknesses. They don't hold my faults against me, because they see me as God sees me: someone worth redeeming. The most loving thing they can do is to want better for me and pray to that end. The enemy is the accuser of our brothers and sisters in Christ, but friends lovingly lay down their lives by taking time from their day do lift others up.
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©2023 Julianne Knapp. First Published 1.3.23
Recently, I discovered a way to thwart said Enemy's plan, and I'm just laughing hysterically. Warfare can actually be fun when you think about it this way. (Okay, warfare is serious, especially with the arch Enemy, but hang with me a minute here . . .)
This is how it goes: the Enemy points out someone else's flaw or pattern of behavior. My natural reaction is to fixate on that "problem":
- think about the flaw
- think of all the ways I would do it differently
- catastrophize by thinking about all the ways this flaw will play out negatively over time
- judge another person's character by the flaw
- make the other person my enemy
Can You Relate? Yeah, I thought so.
Instead of taking this course, when the Enemy whispers evil about another person, I take it as my cue to pray for them in that weakness. See what I did there? I can turn a potentially harmful thought pattern into a glorious use of knowledge by partnering with God in His will for that person! Here's how it works:
- The enemy draws my attention to someone's weakness
- I use it as a cue to pray for that person's weakness
Easy Peasy!
Now I get to participate in Kingdom activity by doing what God made me to do: intercede for my siblings in Christ. The information that could have been used for evil is now being used for good!
I want loving friends like this – when they see my flaws, they pray to God on my behalf to strengthen my weaknesses. They don't hold my faults against me, because they see me as God sees me: someone worth redeeming. The most loving thing they can do is to want better for me and pray to that end. The enemy is the accuser of our brothers and sisters in Christ, but friends lovingly lay down their lives by taking time from their day do lift others up.
Subscribe to free weekly articles in your inbox HERE; your information will never be shared. :-)
©2023 Julianne Knapp. First Published 1.3.23