Luke 4:7 jumped into my mind today. Not the words themselves, but just the chapter and verse number.
My mind was beginning to center in the wrong direction. Someone I know thought they could read my mind, and spoke their own erroneous thought to someone else. When I heard, I was taken by surprise. What they said was wrong and unjust. But I forgave, and trusted Christ in me to live through me, and He did.
But this morning – the soul-storm began to spin, slowly at first. The mind started mulling it over again, that forgiven thing.
Suddenly, this: Luke 4:7.
When I looked it up it turned out to be Satan offering Jesus the kingdoms of this world. “It’s all Yours if only You will fall down and worship me.”
That’s what we’re doing when we fixate on something other than God, when we fear that thing, that person, that circumstance. A soul-hurricane begins to spin around that false center. Fall down and worship me. I can give you power. The skies turn dark; high winds start whipping up the spin factor.
I’ve been there many times, too many, and I’m finally learning the lesson: Stop it before it starts. Boot out the lie, drop the flesh weapons, and stand.
Stand in who I am. Stand in that new creation reality of Christ living in me, through me, as me. Stand in the Spirit by faith. For I am dead, and my life is now hidden with Christ in God. I am a new creation. Christ lives in me.Otherwise I get caught up in the soul-winds and the flying debris within myself, begin judging others in that unclarity of mind, and soon, POW, I’m living and acting from the flesh, judging from appearances, and acting out from the devil’s way of thinking. Been there, done that.
To lose our power all we need to do is hand it over to another person, a situation or circumstance, or to our emotions. We put that lie in the center of “I.”
To keep our power, we’ve got to recognize Christ as our real center – not the lie, that circumstance or person. We recognize that we have no power of our own, that all power in us comes from Christ, and His power in us is unassailable. Immovable. Unshakable. Eternal, and utterly, completely real. More real than storms. More real than other people’s flesh trips. More real than our own flesh trips.
Christ in me, through me, as me. When we stand there by faith, that’s worship. “You are Lord. You are strong. You are love Himself.” And we can connect ourselves to that power: “You are Lord in me. You are strong in me. I am love because You are love in me.” We can love and forgive the other person, because Jesus Christ is forgiveness Himself. We move back to Center and stand until the storm has passed, and – no sin happens, because “Every one who is remaining in him does not sin” (1John 3:6, YLT). We trust. He lives.
We give away our power to shadows and idols, and it comes back at us full force because the only power anything has over us is the power we have given to it. We worship at the wrong altar when we ascribe power to anything or anyone other than God.
I’m thankful there is such a hiding place for us, such a strong tower and source of real strength, and I’m thankful to God for the temptations He allows in my life that push me to recognize and utilize that holy Place.