Not Immune to the Enemy’s Schemes

March 18, 2025 by Leave a Comment

copyright paul.friel@gmail.com

*I wrote this post over a decade ago and am so grateful I’m not struggling in this particular area as much as I did then. But that doesn’t mean I’m not still susceptible to doubt at times. You too? Maybe this post will help some of us struggling today with any trap set by the enemy of our souls. May it be so, Lord!

After all these years of knowing and walking with God, you’d think I’d be immune. Immune to moments of doubt. Immune to thoughts that slither their way into my mind and whisper it all seems too good to be true.

Slither is an apt word here, isn’t it? After all, the author of those kinds of doubting thoughts is the old serpent himself—our enemy Satan. He likes to cause God’s children to doubt. He’s been doing it from the beginning, ever since he ensnared Eve in the Garden of Eden. Remember how he said, “Did God really say . . .” (Genesis 3:1 NIV)

Essentially that’s what he says to me when he plants insidious seeds of doubt in my mind. Did God really say he knows every bird in the mountains, that not one sparrow falls to the earth apart from his will? How is that possible? Did he really say he’s numbered the hairs of your head? How can he know billions of people on earth that intimately? Is he really preparing a home for you in heaven? Doesn’t everything you believe seem a little too good to be true?* (see scripture references below)

In truth, when I look at everything from my own human understanding, these things are too good to be true. I can’t wrap my finite mind around the vastness and power of God. I’m sure this is one reason we’re told in Proverbs to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and to lean not on our own understanding (3:5). I don’t know about you, but I can get into trouble when I lean on my own understanding, limited as it is.

And so, as the Word exhorts me to do, I “live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV) I “remember the wonders he has done” (Psalm 105:5 NIV) and how he has shown himself real in my life. I trust that “All Scripture is God–breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV), and then I put on the armor of God and “take [my] stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:11 NIV). I am not immune to the traps of the enemy so I must do battle.

Are there are other areas—traps other than doubt—where I’m still susceptible as well? Most definitely. I suppose as long as there is breath in this human body of mine, I will not be immune to falling into sin.

It helps to be on guard, though. It helps to know my weaknesses and to be ready for the unsuspecting darts of temptation the evil one lobs at me. I’ve also got to remember that he’s not above trying to trip me up in ways I’d never think I’d fall.

What about you? Are their areas of your life where you’re not immune? Are you on guard against the devil’s schemes?

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” 1 Corinthians 10:12 NIV

*Psalm 50:11; Matthew 10:29-30; John 14:3

*What are some ways you guard yourself against the enemy?

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early May. Sign-up is FREE! *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

Filed Under: encouragement, enemy, faith, fighter, growth, help, learn, life, old, preparation, protection, sin, temptation, trick, trust, Word of God Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Healed by God’s Word

June 4, 2024 by Leave a Comment

“He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” Psalm 107:20 NIV

Our celebration of Easter each spring reminds us that Jesus “was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5 NIV) Praise God for the healing that comes from his wounds! For the price he paid for our sins.

But not only are we healed by his wounds, the verse above from Psalm 107 points out that we are healed by his word as well. When the pain is great, when defeat looms large, when confusion rules, our precious Father sends his word to heal us and to minister to us.

He’s done if for me time and again when my need has been great. He’s sent the healing touch of his word in a variety of ways—everything from my daily Bible reading to a scripture I see posted on social media or to reassurance he whispers to my spirit. The avenue can vary but his word stands the same. And his word heals.

Praise God for the healing that comes from his word!

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name LORD God Almighty.” Jeremiah 15:16 NIV

*How has God sent his healing word to you?

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early August. Sign-up is FREE. *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.

*My photo

Filed Under: blessing, comfort, encouragement, faith, faithfulness, heal, help, holidays, joy, life, miracle, praise, provision, refresh, salvation, sin, variety, word, Word of God Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Are We Among the Last Hold Outs?

November 15, 2022 by 2 Comments

Be on the lookout for them in the next couple of weeks. The last hold-outs of autumn.

These stubborn fall leaves will not “go gentle into that good night” (Dylan Thomas). They will cling tightly to life and refuse—as long as possible—to fulfill their God-given destinies to fall to the ground with the rest of their comrades. You might say if they had fingernails, they’d be hanging on by them.

As we look at these last autumn hold-outs, maybe we need to ask ourselves if there is anything we’re clinging tightly to in spite of God’s direction to let go. Is there anything we’re refusing to submit to him?

Are we clinging to a behavior or an attitude that the Word of God clearly calls sin? Has the Holy Spirit shone his convicting light on an area we’re not quite ready to let go of yet? Or maybe we’re clinging to a person, a possession, or a goal when God has asked us to loosen our grip. It might even be something new or different we feel God is leading us to do, but we’re still at a point of resisting.

Let’s not be among the last hold-outs from God. Instead, let’s fulfill our God-given destinies. Let’s not refuse him any longer.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24 NIV

*How is God speaking to your heart today?

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, comes out Nov. 1st. It’s still not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free! Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*My photo

Filed Under: autumn, change, determination, dream, encouragement, fear, fighter, giving, life, listen, nature, new thing, old, opportunity, sin, time, trust, unplowed ground, wait, wisdom, Word of God Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

An Unwanted Twist in Motives When Pride Sneaks In

June 7, 2022 by Leave a Comment

It can come out of nowhere—or be so subtle I don’t even notice it at first. A twist in motives.

Pride slips in, unwanted yet there. My heart and thoughts can be in the right place as I start an activity—writing, singing, serving in ministry, helping someone, or even in online interactions. And then bam—a desire to impress pops up.  Whether ever so slightly or a glaring example, my motives take a twist. I hate it when it happens.

I’m not alone, though. A twist in motives can sneak up on any of us at any time, especially when we’re doing something we do rather well. It’s natural—and okay—to feel good about a job well done. The problem occurs when we start to puff up and get prideful, secretly wondering if we’ve impressed certain people. It’s crazy how we get prideful over the talents and abilities God alone has given us, isn’t it?

Thankfully the Lord has made me acutely aware of my prideful tendencies. Most of the time I immediately recognize a prideful thought and can go to battle against Satan as he tries to snare me in his trap. I go to prayer, confessing my twist in motives and ask the Lord to help me want “to bless and not impress.” (That’s a phrase I keep handy at all times—a phrase I strive to live by.)

Do any of you have a similar struggle with pride trying to weasel its way into your heart? I think the apostle Paul may have. Whether he battled pride or a different problem, he told the believers in Rome, “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” (Romans 7:21)

Let’s continually be on guard against the enemy’s attempts to get us to slip into pride, his plans to corrupt our initial desire to serve or bless. Let’s be on the lookout for a twist in motives.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 KJV

*How can you be more alert to pride sneaking in?

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early August. Sign-up is FREE. *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.

*Flickr photo by .Bala, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: enemy, fighter, frustration, growth, help, life, prayer, pride, protection, sin, wisdom Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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