Weak points can become Strong points!

The final two things that I wanted to share on Spiritual Fortification are:

• Follow whatever God asks you to do and live in Obedience!
• Fight against any enemy invaders that try to sneak back into your life!

“If the heart has been renewed by the Spirit of God, the life will bear witness to the fact. While we cannot do anything to change our hearts or to bring ourselves into harmony with God; while we must not trust at all to ourselves or our good works, our lives will reveal whether the grace of God is dwelling within us. A change will be seen in the character, the habits, the pursuits. The contrast will be clear and decided between what they have been and what they are.” Steps to Christ, p. 57

For each of us, the battle is different and obedience may be different as well. For me, some examples of my learning to living in obedience has meant putting boundaries around my Internet and social media activities. Rather than they controlling me and eating up so much of my time and attention, I now allow God to control them. Learning to live in obedience and following the Holy Spirit’s conviction has also meant throwing away worldly movies and CDs that I once loved. It has meant giving away some of my clothes to Goodwill that I knew weren’t honoring God. It has meant cleaning out my pantry of unwholesome snacks, and so much more. It has also meant spending hours on my knees asking that God would change my heart and give me a deeper love for Him. As a result, God has filled my life with such an abundant fullness that I don’t even miss the cheap superficial amusements that I once enjoyed. 

Although progress may be made, remember we can do nothing in our own strength. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit. And the moment we start to relax or pat ourselves on the back for a job well down, the enemy will attack in a new way or compromise will start to sneak back in. We can't allow this! The reason we often become lazy is that we have grown complacent to the little breaches. They don’t seem like such a big deal. “After all,” we reason, looking around at our companions, “Their breaches are much bigger than mine!” But nothing is small in the sight of God. And to Satan, he doesn’t care how he gets a foothold, as long as he has one. It may be an impatient remark, a rolling of the eyes, a slipping of the tongue, going against our conscience in even the smallest way, or something else rather insignificant. But if we let one “character breach” in, more are sure to follow. So we must stop allowing in the unwelcome intruders and take back God’s rightful territory!

“He who has determined to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that all powers and passions of the unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him. Each day he must renew his consecration, each day do battle with evil. Old habits, hereditary tendencies to wrong, will strive for the mastery, and against these he is to be ever on guard, striving in Christ’s strength for victory.” Acts of the Apostles, p. 476

Yes, the enemy will keep testing our wall, looking for loose bricks, trying to gain a foothold. We can expect this as long as we live in his domain. But we are promised:

“With watchfulness and prayer [our] weakest points can be so guarded as to become [our] strongest points, and [we] can encounter temptation without being overcome.” Pastoral Ministry, p. 24

So…let us move forward in strength, for God will never leave us or forsake us!

Review:

• Bible Thought: "Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves." James 1:22
• Blessing: If God be for us, who can be against us!
• Battle: To be consistent!