Are you a child of God? If you answer ‘yes,’ then you belong to the family of God. You have brothers and sisters in the family, and together you form the church, the body of Christ. As children of God, our experiences and struggles are similar because we have the same enemy-the devil.
He is after
us, and his goal is to cause us to disobey God at any cost. That has been his
scheme from the beginning. In the Garden of Eden, he contradicted God’s
commandment, which led to Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, and the
devil has not stopped messing with us. For this reason, the Bible admonishes
us, the children of God, to be watchful: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great
enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to
devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
It will help
us to take the Bible’s description of the devil seriously, so we do not fall
prey to him and his schemes. So, how does the Bible describe him? He is
referred to as our great enemy (see 1 Peter 5:8), and called the deceiver,
liar, murderer, and destroyer: “You are children of your father the devil, and
you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning.
He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies,
it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies”
(John 8:44; also see John 10:10). If you knew you had an enemy who was all of
these things and was actually trying to trip you up, how would you live? Most
likely, you would be afraid, concerned, worried, and vigilant. You might also
try to stay out of his way as much as possible, and if all else failed, you
might go to the authorities to bring a charge against him or seek
protection.
The Bible
tells us what our enemy is like, not so that we’ll be afraid or worried, but
instead so that we’ll be careful and take cover to stay safe. How do we take
cover? By constantly praying, avoiding places and situations where we might be
vulnerable. This also means we need to spend quality time with the family,
share our struggles and victories, and pray for each other. After all, the
enemy is after all of us.
Unfortunately,
there are a lot of people saying “I’m okay” even when they’re not. The reasons
could vary but do not justify the false statement. The reasons could include:
●
“I don’t have enough time to share.”
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“I don’t think you’ll understand.”
●
“It’s personal-it’s embarrassing.”
●
“I don’t want anyone to know I have problems; that might change my
reputation.”
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“I should be able to handle this on my own.”
●
“People might start to gossip about me.”
The truth
is, the Bible teaches us to “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each
other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). If we’re not honest, people
won’t know how to help us. When we share, we all learn from each other’s
experiences, mistakes, and victories. As a result, we will grow stronger
individually, and also as the church. The church will gain a better image in
society, and the Lord’s name will be honored. Please, let’s be honest with each
other. There’s no need to carry our burdens alone; a load becomes lighter and
more bearable when more shoulders are underneath it.
Also, let’s
learn to cut each other some slack so people are not intimidated to share and
ask for help. “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making
allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to
keep yourselves united in the Spirit, …” (Ephesians 4:2-4).
So, let us
prayerfully and humbly share our needs and trials with each other; let’s not
allow pride and fear to stop us from being what God wants each of us to be in
the Body of Christ. God will honor our efforts and obedience!
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