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When Satan Pursues Us – Don't Miss Out On the Blessing

There is a direct correlation between our obedience to the Lord God’s faithfulness and the way things will go for us, yet somehow we continue chasing our own desires instead of His.  We will bend and break the rules however we need in order to have our way . . . I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul . . .

Disobedience is one of Satan’s best tools and he is happy to lend it to us.  In fact, that’s a tool he hopes we don’t return as he’d like us to keep trying to do things our way and not God’s in order make us miss the blessings God intends for us. 

When I was working seven days a week, day in, day out, occasionally I’d think about skipping that early Sunday morning church service at MPC . . . but then God would whisper in my ear . . . “Miss church and miss the blessing”.  I knew it wasn’t my mother whispering in my ear.  My mother was not the type to whisper, nor was she the type to shout . . . she used a mother’s best tool: guilt. “It’s only an hour a week for the Lord.”

Perhaps God whispers out of grace?  He knows my mother isn’t far away from Him and he probably whispers so that she won’t get wind that I am considering having a bit of a lie in that morning.  (Just thirty more minutes of sleep, that’s all I need . . . just thirty minutes . . .) By whispering, God’s simply being a kind and loving dad and giving me the nudge I need to get up and get going before my mother finds out that I’m backsliding and not going.  (It’s only an hour a week . . . )

Every week I make it a point to go to church.  I don’t want to miss the blessing.  That’s a blessing that is as easy to collect as rounding Go and collecting $200.  Besides, when attending the right church it’s easy to attend; I’ll go faithfully every week if I know that I am going to hear an inspiring message, one that sends me away with something to ponder about for more than fifteen minutes. 

Some pastors are better than others, and some are a tough act to follow.  Some are great storytellers, and some aren’t.  Most churches can get people to attend, but I think you have to be a storyteller to keep them.  As the saying goes . . . leave them begging for more. 

I love hearing a pastor who can weave a story and tie it all up with an ah-ha moment. A pastor like that gets me up and out of the bed because I don’t want to miss the ah-ha. The blessing for being obedient and going is a bonus.  I love a bonus, don't you?

There is a direct correlation between our obedience and God’s faithfulness and the way things will go for us, yet somehow we continue to pursue our own desires and not His.  No theory, this is one of God’s principle directives.  It’s all over the bible from the old testament to new.  I suppose each of us must test that principal for ourselves, but the sooner we learn it and act on it the better things will go for us.

Genesis 12 starts out with God promising Abraham that he would be blessed to be a blessing to future generations if Abraham would be obedient and do what God directed.  Abraham did as he was told, and later on in Genesis we learn that God was faithful and did exactly as He promised. He blessed Abraham abundantly! Okay, there was a little hiccup with a pharaoh but that's another story.  Clearly Abraham wasn't perfect,which means there's hope for me, and you, yet.

In Samuel 15, God rejected Saul as king because of his disobedience.  God sent Samuel to anoint Saul as king, and all Saul had to do was be obedient to God.  God was going to hand the Amalekites over to Saul in battle and make him king, but Saul made one fatal mistake: he failed to be obedient and do as the Lord instructed.  Saul had been instructed to totally destroy the Amalekites and everything they owned, but Saul allowed his men to bring back some of the spoils of war, cattle, which Saul claimed were the best of the best for a sacrifice to God.  Samuel tells Saul, “God doesn’t want your sacrifice, he wanted your obedience.”  Later, David became king instead of Saul.

Over the past couple of weeks I have watched God be faithful and as I am watching God’s faithfulness, I have witnessed Satan trying to steal the blessings. Why is that when we act in obedience, Satan shows up to ruin the party? Why is he even allowed to?

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