Captivation
Proverbs 29:24 Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing.
Satan is a thief who uses pride, jealousy, and the fear of man to attempt to keep us from seeing that seeking God first is the only way to find true satisfaction in life. Satan's only real power over those who belong to Jesus is in his ability to lie to us. We partner with this thief by listening to his lies.
The truth is, what God offers to me daily should captivate me completely, if I can get my mind wrapped around the truth: that God has a plan for each day, treasure in each day for me, a divine purpose for each day, an available amount of revelation for each day, an available amount of forward motion into God's overall plan for my life...all waiting for me each day.
Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
In another place in the Psalms, it says that God "individually fashioned my heart" to match His perfect plan for me. Many of the things I hope my life will be like, the way I picture my life turning out, were planted like a seed in my heart by God. If I will trust Him enough to steadily choose His plan over mine...step by step...those desires planted in my heart will help lead me to what He has for me.
Satan is a thief and a liar. This isn't just my opinion, this is, by definition, who He is. He himself did not trust God's perfect plan created for him...one of beauty and prominence. Instead, the Bible says satan wanted more than God's perfect plan..he wanted to elevate himself to be like God:
Ezekiel 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.
In satan's jealousy and acting on that jealousy...his fall was assured. As he desired more than the perfect plan promised for him (more than perfect is in itself a lie), he hardened his heart against God until he reached the point of blinding pride. Only blinding pride could lead satan to the most irrational choice possible: rebelling against God!
God's plan for us, step by step, is the narrow road to a full and satisfying life, but it rarely looks like it at any one point. It is the road to power, satisfaction, wealth, and importance in the kingdom where servants are leaders and the humble and meek get it all. These longings of my heart aren't bad if they are connected to the truth of God's kingdom. But apart from God's plan to satisfy them the desire for importance, wealth, and power will lead me to destruction.
God's plan really does lead to everything my heart is hungry for...the desires placed there by God... but it is hard to see it with clear eyes. The one who tempted Adam and Eve, and introduced all of creation to the stain of sin, works hard to taint our view of God's perfect path.
God says "seek My kingdom first, and all the rest will be added unto you."
Satan's main strategy to steal God's plan from me hinges on me seeking me first...taking things into my own hands. Satan wants to exploit the very desires God placed in my heart...the dream of my heart...and hijack them for my own destruction.
If satan can't keep me from God in the first place, plan B is to turn my eyes to myself and others as much as possible to keep me from being satisfied in God. A person satisfied in God is the biggest threat to the enemy, because most of His tools stop working when God is your source and your reward!
Luke 14:7 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: 8 “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus says "look for the lowest place, it is there you will find importance". Jesus knows that I want to be important...everyone does! God wants me to be important, in agreement with what He says is good! But Satan says "get noticed, make yourself look important."
Both of these paths are designed to appeal to what God has placed in my heart, but only one really works! This is true for every choice we have. There is a choice that agrees with God...one that unlocks the fullness of what He has planned for me, and then there is a choice for self...to go after what I want in my own strength...partnership with the thief...that will never satisfy the longings of my heart
Satan is a thief who uses pride, jealousy, and the fear of man to attempt to keep us from seeing that seeking God first is the only way to find true satisfaction in life. Satan's only real power over those who belong to Jesus is in his ability to lie to us. We partner with this thief by listening to his lies.
The truth is, what God offers to me daily should captivate me completely, if I can get my mind wrapped around the truth: that God has a plan for each day, treasure in each day for me, a divine purpose for each day, an available amount of revelation for each day, an available amount of forward motion into God's overall plan for my life...all waiting for me each day.
Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
In another place in the Psalms, it says that God "individually fashioned my heart" to match His perfect plan for me. Many of the things I hope my life will be like, the way I picture my life turning out, were planted like a seed in my heart by God. If I will trust Him enough to steadily choose His plan over mine...step by step...those desires planted in my heart will help lead me to what He has for me.
Satan is a thief and a liar. This isn't just my opinion, this is, by definition, who He is. He himself did not trust God's perfect plan created for him...one of beauty and prominence. Instead, the Bible says satan wanted more than God's perfect plan..he wanted to elevate himself to be like God:
Ezekiel 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.
In satan's jealousy and acting on that jealousy...his fall was assured. As he desired more than the perfect plan promised for him (more than perfect is in itself a lie), he hardened his heart against God until he reached the point of blinding pride. Only blinding pride could lead satan to the most irrational choice possible: rebelling against God!
God's plan for us, step by step, is the narrow road to a full and satisfying life, but it rarely looks like it at any one point. It is the road to power, satisfaction, wealth, and importance in the kingdom where servants are leaders and the humble and meek get it all. These longings of my heart aren't bad if they are connected to the truth of God's kingdom. But apart from God's plan to satisfy them the desire for importance, wealth, and power will lead me to destruction.
God's plan really does lead to everything my heart is hungry for...the desires placed there by God... but it is hard to see it with clear eyes. The one who tempted Adam and Eve, and introduced all of creation to the stain of sin, works hard to taint our view of God's perfect path.
God says "seek My kingdom first, and all the rest will be added unto you."
Satan's main strategy to steal God's plan from me hinges on me seeking me first...taking things into my own hands. Satan wants to exploit the very desires God placed in my heart...the dream of my heart...and hijack them for my own destruction.
If satan can't keep me from God in the first place, plan B is to turn my eyes to myself and others as much as possible to keep me from being satisfied in God. A person satisfied in God is the biggest threat to the enemy, because most of His tools stop working when God is your source and your reward!
Luke 14:7 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: 8 “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus says "look for the lowest place, it is there you will find importance". Jesus knows that I want to be important...everyone does! God wants me to be important, in agreement with what He says is good! But Satan says "get noticed, make yourself look important."
Both of these paths are designed to appeal to what God has placed in my heart, but only one really works! This is true for every choice we have. There is a choice that agrees with God...one that unlocks the fullness of what He has planned for me, and then there is a choice for self...to go after what I want in my own strength...partnership with the thief...that will never satisfy the longings of my heart
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