I woke up Friday morning in a much better frame of mind. I have a friend who is hurting and I really want to encourage her. I was praying about her, asking God to give me some scripture to share with her. And He did. And as I was thinking on the scripture, I realized it was also the key to the problem I had the day before.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:10-12 NIV)
I don't think Satan wants me to encourage my friend. Satan wants me to believe that my words of encouragement will not be helpful. He wants me to believe that my own problems are big enough that I have no business trying to help someone else. He also doesn't want my friend to be encouraged. He wants her to fail. And Satan wants the person she could help to fail...
We as Christians have to be aware of this Spiritual Warfare! It is always a good idea to watch out for your enemies. Satan caught me off guard. It happens frequently when God has a good work for us to do, Satan will interfere. He wants to render us useless.
There are a couple things I use to combat this doubting.
The first is to remember that my struggle is NOT against flesh and blood. I had a pastor who shared something with me that I always think of in these circumstances. He shared that whenever he would witness to somebody and they would pray to receive Christ, he would throw up that night. To me that was a tangible example of spiritual warfare. I always think of that when my doubts come!
The second thing I have to remind myself of came from that same pastor. That pastor not only helped me to recognize my spiritual gift of encouragement, he gave me a rare and precious insight of how God was using my gift in other people's lives. I led a Bible Study and that pastor shared with me some things that those women learned from me that stuck with them. It was so tangible and so powerful that it helped me to trust my gift.
This morning I was sharing my struggle with a Christian friend and she also confirmed for me that I do have the gift of encouragement and that God is using it. It really helped me getting that feedback from somebody I trust.
There are two things I want to remember from this experience.
I need to be aware of when Satan is causing me to doubt and to fight against it.
I need to encourage my sisters in Christ like my former pastor encouraged me so that they also can fight against Satan.
I want you to remember that when you doubt your abilities or your worth or your message to ask God if you are being deceived. Find a Christian friend you trust to encourage you. Don't let Satan render you useless.
