When you are dealing with grief, suffering, or pain, Jesus can relate to you in a very personal way. He has experienced it himself. He understands your hurt. Let Him comfort you.
Who is this great Comforter? God calls Him, “my righteous servant“. (Isaiah 53:11)
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” Isaiah 53:3
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Did you know that the Lord can set you free in an instant, just like that? That’s what happened to me. After years of believing a lie, I am finally free. What was Satan’s strategy to defeat me?
It was getting me to think that the “one thing” I couldn’t have was what I needed to be happy.
You would think I could have figured that out, but I didn’t, not until the Lord revealed it to me Himself.
After a time of prayer, I’m not sure why, but I decided to look up Charles Stanley on YouTube. I had heard of him, but had never listened to one of his sermons, and someone had mentioned him at my Bible Study the day before.
I picked a sermon called, “Satan’s Strategy to Defeat Us.” Totally unaware of what was about to happen, I listened to the sermon. Have you ever experienced this? In a sermon, the minister says one specific thing and you know God is speaking directly to you. You almost want to slyly glance around and see if everyone is looking at you!
That’s what happened to me that day. Dr. Stanley said that if you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired, that’s when you are vulnerable for a Satanic attack. My ears perked up. Then, Dr. Stanley explained that Satan’s strategy was to make you want the one thing you can’t have. I knew God had led me to this sermon. It was no accident.
Remember what happened to Adam and Eve? Satan got them to believe that they needed the one thing they couldn’t have. There was only one thing they couldn’t have: fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. I have a feeling that fruit looked a lot tastier than it actually was. (Is it possible that we magnify that “one thing” and make it bigger and better than it really is?)
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” (Genesis 3:13)
Satan is still deceiving people with that same lie. He will make you think that to be happy, you need the one thing you can’t have. That is a lie. There is no “one thing” you need to be happy, except the Lord Jesus Christ.
On the same day, I just happened to be on Isaiah 54 in my daily reading plan.
“For your Maker is your husband—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.” Isaiah 54:5 NIV
“Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 NIV
The “one thing” you think you need to be happy could be any number of things: a baby, a spouse, or a home. Fill in the blank. But that is Satan’s strategy to defeat you. Don’t believe it. You are not condemned to a life of sadness, ever!
And, if you hear someone say, “The Lord is all I need”, those words might mean more than you ever imagined. There might be a story that brought her to that realization and now she can say with confidence,
“You may never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.”
Corrie ten boom, Survivor of Auschwitz Concentration Camp
Read about Corrie’s trust in Jesus during WW II in her famous book, The Hiding Place.
In His Love, Cindy
Before you go, please see my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.”
Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
RealChristianWomen.blog
Beautiful, Cindy. Thank you. Blessings!
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Boy, I needed to read this myself, today! Blessings, Bruce! Always keeping you and Peggy in my prayers. 🙏
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🙏
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I can really relate to this! Thanks for posting!
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I’m sure there are a lot of people who can relate to this. My prayer is that this message reaches all who need this reminder of God’s love and faithfulness. God bless you, my friend! ✝️
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This is so powerful. No matter how long I have walked with the Lord I still fall for this clever trap of Satan. Thank you, Cindy, for this “shot in the arm” that I needed today.
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Patty, I am so thankful that this message ministered to you today! I need to read it often, myself. God bless you as you serve Him! 🙏✝️
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Wow, wow, wow! So many times in my life, I’ve committed the same travesty, focusing on an idol instead of Jesus. The idol changes, but it’s still the same forlorn wish for a “thing” I can’t have, the mistaken belief that the “if/then” will make me happy. Thanks so much for grounding me today in the truth that all joy comes from Christ!
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I originally wrote this in 2019. I came across it recently, and I thought: I need to post this again! I needed to read it again, too! Thank you for your encouraging comment. God bless you, today!
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I love Charles Stanley, his videos and his books. I’m so glad and once again blown away by the timing of God, and how things show up just when you need them!
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Thank you, Cindi, for your encouraging comments. I’m so glad to hear that you were touched by the post. I needed to hear it myself! God bless you as you serve Him! ✝️
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Very encouraging 🙏
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I’m so glad you were encouraged! God bless you, Nicola! ✝️
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