“Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him” - 1 Sam 16:14 (NIV)
God allowed an evil spirit to torment Saul because he had been rejected for his disobedience (I Sam 15). Sometimes in our Christian walk we too can experience a certain heavy spirit that comes to oppress us. It weighs us down with anxiety and often depression.
Such a tormenting spirit is not necessarily from the Lord as in the case of Saul whose transgressions were so clear and usually it is the enemy only harassing us. The enemy is in that business of moving to and from to harass believers. His intention is one: to draw believers away from the Lord!
For a believer one of the weapon clearly at our disposal is to go down on our knees or rather, rise up and call upon God for deliverance. Of course it is quite impossible for one to do so if his walk with the Lord is distant. In such instance the evil spirit roams and reigns freely. So let’s always be close to the Lord and give the enemy not a single opportunity to weigh us down.
Another is to be a witness. That as believers we too, in spite of our faith, can be weighed down, with the hopeless pain of anxiety is not an embarrassment. We are but in a spiritual battle. In such moments let us be steadfast to rise above all because of the hope we have in him.
And when we are victorious we serve as an encouragement to those who do not know him or those who are struggling and need empathy from only those who have been down.
Prayer for today: Lord Father in heaven today I pray that through faith in you I overcome any tormenting spirit that seeks to draw me away from you!
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06/05/2024 - 07/05/2024 All day“Do not confirm to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2)
Almost all cultivators are aware that if soils are used perpetually without rains but constantly under work they are deprived of all nutrients. So, though once productive, they lose all power to yield fresh crops as before. But so is our Christian life when we do not regularly feed our spirit life with the Word!
In our leading verse, the Apostle Paul is urging believers to “renew” their minds rather than make them stale, lest they end up losing all power to yield fruit. But how is this done? We renew our minds by constantly reading the Word of God, for there are always insights with God speaking to us afresh. Psalm 119:104-5 says, “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” The Apostle Peter reminds us, “Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow and be saved.” It is a beautiful illustration for any who have seen a hungry baby sucking the teats of a mother.
Renewing our minds is also by reading about the lives of people of faith who have walked before us and their created works. The Christian faith started in the first century after Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead. Now over two millenniums it has produced giants of faith who have shared their walk with God through inspired teachings that are a treasure to dig into. By scouring the writings of the great saints before us, listening to their recorded sermons, songs and preaching, which these days can be found on virtual medial channels like Yu tube, reading their biographies, our faith is renewed.
And then we also renew our faith through fellowship. When the Apostle Paul urges us, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” ( Hebrews 10:25), he is reminding us that our faith cannot grow in isolation. During the Covid pandemic lockdown one bitter issue was denying Believers opportunity to meet fellow followers of Christ to share testimonies showing the work of God in their lives.
So today, if your faith is on a low keel, or you want it to flower, one thing you can’t help doing without is “renewing” your mind. The blessings to unfold are endless.
Prayer for today:Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a treasure we have of your rich Word to dig into always; books around us of faith to inspire us; and believers to share our faith- may we make use of these, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
