God is close by; You are not alone
James 4:7-8 “Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts you double-minded. ”
These are some of my favorite verses in the Bible they remind us that God is always close by. These like the Great Commission that was given by Jesus after His resurrection reminds us that He is always close by. Our God is never more than a prayer away from coming to our rescue.
The Word tells us that we must first resist the devil. Temptations are going to come, and God does not promise us that He will keep Satan from tempting us. Listen to this prayer of Jesus, “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the evil one.”(John 17:15) Temptation is not a sin; remember Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for forty days, but we are told that if we resist the temptations that Satan will be forced to depart. Satan was forced to leave Jesus as He continually resisted. Jesus also gave us the supreme example on how to resist; each time He was tempted Jesus responded by quoting Scripture, and the Word of God still is the best weapon we have in the fight against Satan. If you are in a position where you do not know the Word then you are greatly increasing your chances of falling victim to satanic attacks.
We read the story in the Old Testament of Moses and the children of Israel. They had just been released from captivity by the Egyptians, but Pharaoh had a change of heart; and decided to bring the Israelites back under slavery. Moses stood at the Red Sea, and he lifted his hands and cried to God who was near His children; God miraculously parted the waters of the sea, and the children of Israel crossed on dry land. God is always near to His children to help them in times of trouble. Listen to the words of Jeremiah 33:3, “Call on Me, and I will answer you; and I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” God promises to hear us, and to deliver us from dangers.
God has promised that He will never leave us; He has told us in Proverbs 18:24 that He is our friend who will stay closer to us than a brother. However, for us to sense His presence and know that He is there to protect us we must stay close to His Word, and cleanse our hands from unrighteous acts. As we hide His words in our hearts then we will no longer desire to live unrighteously, and our hearts and minds will be cleansed by the purity we see in Him.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy Word.”-Psalms 119:9
Father, I thank You for sticking closer to me than a brother, and I ask that You would help me stay in Your Word; so that I can resist Satan as he attacks, and so that I may be aware of Your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Yes, You Can Ministry 