His Light and the Truth

Some interesting things that spoke to me in today's sermon:

Satan, the Enemy, is the Deceiver and wants me to believe things that aren't true. Some of them I have fallen for.

The biggest lie I have believed is that when things are difficult, painful and down right scary that I should look inward to myself for the answers. This can lead to a Pity Party, depression, anger, hurtful actions or words toward others, blaming others, and sometimes taking things in "my" own control and making it worse. 

But God's Truth and Light is that I should look upward, toward Christ, the Prize. That God is not a God of darkness, fear, doubt, condemnation and confusion. He keeps his promises, He finishes the work he began, He is always with me,  He is my Healer, my Provider, my Comforter, He loved Me first-while I was a sinner (so why do I worry that He will stop loving me when I do wrong things?), and that He has, through a covenant, given me His name (as in a marriage) that I will always have. He is my husband and I, His bride. Just like a good earthly husband would fight and protect for his bride, and not make her do certain things to keep his name, God is the perfect husband. He always has my best interest in mind, even when I fail. In fact scriptures tell me that it was He gives grace and extra help to the humble and lowly. James 4:6 "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."

When my heart tells me I am a failure, that is the Enemy's tactic to get me looking away from Jesus. If we are feeling there is no other way but to believe the lie that we can't do it anymore, whatever that might be, then that is blindness (from the Deceiver) and not from God. God has a different opinion about my weakness and where my hope should be.

1 John 3:19-21 "And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God."

This means that the truth is that even when our hearts condemn us (we know we failed or we are too feeble and incapable of doing some "impossible" task) that God is greater than our heart, and deeply knows all things intimately about us. He is a God of hope, forgiveness, redemption, healing, and Light.