God says in Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV), “For I know the
thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of
evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God is saying that He always has
good thoughts toward you and He wants you to have a good future. If God always has good thoughts toward you, it
means He will always be good to you. If He could sacrifice His only Son Jesus
for you, is there any good thing that he won’t give you? (see Romans 8:32).
But, does God
sometimes ‘allow’ disappointment? Yes, He does, but He is never the cause of
your disappointment. More often than not, it is one’s human presumption and
pride that cause disappointment in life, and God sometimes allows disappointment
in order to wake you up from ‘spiritual stagnancy’ and turn you back to Him, so
that you will be able to see the better things He has in store for you.
“Blame it on the devil
then!” Some may say. But can the devil really hurt you? No, He actually can’t.
He can’t harm you unless you give place to him (Ephesians 4:27). In
fact, Jesus had already disarmed the devil and his demons when He died for you on
the cross some 2,000 years ago (see Ephesians 1:20-21). The Bible also says as
a believer, you are raised up together and seated together with Him in the
heavenly places (Ephesians 2:5-6). You may ask, “If this is so, then why there
are so many believers still suffering in life and not living in victory?”
Here’s the truth: The
devil is not the factor, but your mind
is!
The Mind-Game
The devil cannot ‘touch’
you directly. So, he would try to weaken your trust in God by playing ‘mind-game’
with you. The devil’s strategy is to distract you from the way and the truth of God, and his weapon is his accusation against you (Revelation 12:10). He accuses you day
and night in order to make you fall into:
a) Self-condemnation (e.g. “I am not good enough!”, “I am not anointed enough!”),
b) Self-effort (e.g. “I suffer this problem because I didn’t please God enough!”). Self-effort also leads to strife and bitterness among God's people when their expectation or anticipation is not met (e.g. "I have sacrificed much but my leader still doesn't recognize my ability and promote me!").
a) Self-condemnation (e.g. “I am not good enough!”, “I am not anointed enough!”),
b) Self-effort (e.g. “I suffer this problem because I didn’t please God enough!”). Self-effort also leads to strife and bitterness among God's people when their expectation or anticipation is not met (e.g. "I have sacrificed much but my leader still doesn't recognize my ability and promote me!").
So, how do you
overcome the devil’s scheme?
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word
of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death”
(Revelation 12:11 NKJV).
We have learned much
about the blood of Jesus, and meditating on the Word of God, but here, I want
to emphasize on the 3rd point, i.e. “they did not love their lives to the death”. What does this
statement mean? Does this statement mean you shouldn’t love your life? No! In
fact, God loves you so much, and He wants you to have a good life! The word ‘lives’ here is translated as
‘psuchē’
in Greek, which can mean ‘the mind, or the soul’. Your soul includes your mind, your will, and your emotion. So,
this verse actually says God’s people overcame the devil by not loving their
own ‘mind or soul’, or more specifically, their own ‘ways’!
I have heard of believers
who want God to bless them, but at the same time, they aren’t willing to give
Him the freedom to lead them in His ways.
In other words, they want God to bless them in their own terms and own ‘ways’.
They would also look at their circumstances with their own ‘natural eyes’ or ‘natural
mind’, using only human logics, human knowledge, or earthly wisdom to try to
solve their problems, and therefore, God is not given a chance to share His
knowledge and wisdom.
As a matter of fact,
the flesh will never agree with God’s Spirit. This is also the reason why many
people make hasty and foolish decisions, e.g. giving up on their marriage too
quickly, committing suicide, etc as they perceive with their own ‘natural mind’
this is the only ‘way’ available. If only they know, agree, and believe that
God is ‘absolutely good’ to them, and their God is omnipotent (all powerful),
things would have turned out very differently!
God’s Goodness Expressed through
Jesus
In Genesis 3:1-8, Adam
and Eve were supposed to focus on tending
the Garden of Eden and enjoying the
goodness of God for them. But the devil manipulated and turned their ‘eyes’
away from God’s original plan for them, and into strife & self-effort by
accusing God. When they doubted and disobeyed God, self-condemnation set in.
Imagine if Adam and Eve were to choose
to focus and set their minds continuously on the goodness of God, all the unnecessary problems they faced wouldn’t
have happened!
“There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do
not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death… For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things
of the flesh (sarx = body, human
nature with its frailties[physically/morally/passion]), but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and
peace. Because the carnal mind (sarkikŏs
= pertaining to flesh) is enmity
against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So
then, those who are in the flesh cannot please (arěskō = be agreeable with) God.” (Romans 8:1-2, 5-8 NKJV)
Because of the fall of
Adam, God came up with a redemption plan for humankind by sending the ‘second
Adam’, Jesus Christ (see Romans 5:12-21). He is fully man (100% man) and fully
God (100% God), and therefore, He came to suffer the full brunt of men’s punishment (religious law) and God’s
punishment (against sin) on the cross, so you can be set free! His work on the
cross is sure, certain, perfect, 100%!
In fact, He had never bargained for a lesser sentencing. He gave it all, unreservedly,
and He did it all with you in His mind. So, how can He not be 100% good to you?
“The Lord is my shepherd… Surely (i.e. certainly, 100%) goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:1-6). Therefore,
instead of settling for less by focusing on the things of the flesh (i.e.
worldly ‘ways’ or carnal mentality), choose
to set your mind on the ‘sure, certain, 100%’ goodness of God, Jesus your Shepherd, and receive all of His goodness for you!
The same free-will God
has given to Adam is also given to you today. You are free to choose! As a
believer, you have already made the choice to accept Jesus Christ as your
personal Saviour and Lord into your life. Now that you have become a child of
God, you have another choice to make for your life, i.e. the choice of where
to focus your mind. Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)
says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.
Because he trusts in You.”
To have a renewed mind
that agrees with God, start meditating on the goodness of God over your life today. Give time for the Lord to
speak to you before you make any important decisions. He will surely guide you
and lead you, because He is 100% good to you. Believe that He is always and all-together good to you, all the time!
I want to make a prophetic declaration to you who are reading this message
now. If you are currently facing a difficulty or even a dead-end road, I
declare that God can still create a new way out for you! I declare that He can
open a new door of opportunity for you! Nothing is impossible for Him! Set your
mind on Jesus, and declare, believe, and receive the goodness of God over yourself. Amen!
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who
trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8 NKJV)