Daily Devotion

Are You Behind Enemy Lines?

 

"But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal."  Acts 18:12

 

We all face hard times at some point in our lives.  At those times, it feels like the attacks of the devil and his minions are greater than ever before.  It is easy to get weary in your faith and allow doubt to enter your heart.  We feel like all hope is gone; what makes matters worse is that those around us betray us and help in the discouragement.  When you get to this point, all you long for is an ally and a way out of the bad situation.  But a key problem lies in the fact that sometimes its not us keeping ourselves down, but the company we are keeping. 

 

I'm sure everybody has heard of the saying "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" which is indirectly derived from the scripture Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you, and persecute you;".  You have also heard be careful of the company you keep.  In the Gospels, you see that Jesus kept those same 12 disciples and others like Mary of Magdalene, Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary in his company.  He did not have many people changing in and out.  Yet He knew full and well that the devil was after Peter, and that the devil would take Judas Iscariot.  When you are facing seemingly insurmountable difficulties you must guard your eyes of what you see, guard your ears of what you hear, guard your heart of what you allow to get there.  So obviously you must watch your company because we sometimes buy into the negativity they sometimes bring.  You must stay on the offensive with God protecting you to get through difficulties or else the negativity that swirls around you can cause you to be caught off guard.  Because the very people you believe to be your friends will turn their backs on you, or worse yet, feed you lies and negativity to keep you from getting past it.  So give your situation to God, but while you are recovering be sure to evaluate your company so you will not concede defeat.

 

"God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, "You must remove the evil person from among you." " 1 Corinthians 5:13