And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:8-11
Jesus, name above all names!! He is our redeemer, our Beloved King, our provider; yet, so many refuse His gift of Salvation and His promise of hope. Why? Ah, yes; the whispering, hissing poisonous lies of Satan. He whispers “God does not really love you. If He did why does He deny you such lovely pleasures?” Isn’t that the lie He told Eve! After all, if God truly loved you wouldn’t He let you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Ah, but you see it is that very fruit that opened their eyes to see the horror of evil, unleashing its power within their hearts. Until then all they knew was God’s love, beauty, glory and presence. They had no selfishness, no anger, no hate, and no concept of evil. Yet, God had given them the choice; knowing which they would choose. His choice was simple, display your love toward me by obeying this one command. Yet, they chose not to obey; when, Satan venomous whisper was “God does not really love you!” Still God had a plan of redemption, even before the fall of Adam. God still planned to shower His love upon all who would accept His gift of salvation and love.
Even for those of us who are Christians, the one whispering sound of Satan that paralyzes us is the venomous poison of doubt and fear that perhaps God doesn’t really love us. We are silenced when we begin to see our own frailties and say, “How could God love me? My voice would be shunned if others knew all the truth about me. How can I tell anyone about God’s love?” Or, we measure His love by our circumstances or by the degree we are blessed with counterfeit joys! We never recognize that it is His Act of love which denied us those counterfeit pleasures, so we might find true joy in Him.
Most of my life, I measured God’s love by whether He would give me one thing–someone who would love me. A struggle that was always my thorn in the flesh. The one for which I would compromise everything else; believing that this was God’s answer or response. Finally, for the first time in my life; I have been freed from that lie!! You see, truth be known; Jesus Christ had crushed the head of Satan when Jesus died upon that cross and took my place. All my sins were laid upon His shoulder. That was the proof of how much He loved me.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Romans 5:7-9
Knowing all this, why did it take me so long to embrace this truth? Our Salvation comes the moment we accept Christ as our Savior. Our purification, sanctification begins that same moment; but, God’s transforming work within me takes a lifetime. One tiny Glory at a time. One day, I will no longer hear the hissing poisonous lie of Satan. Until that day, I will draw closer to Jesus Christ, my Savior and my King. He loves me with an everlasting love and He proves that to me in my darkest valleys as well as on the mountaintops. It is His abiding presence, His word and His glorious love songs that prove that to me every moment of every day.
I do not know what is your fear, your sorrow, or your thorn in this flesh today; but I do know this. To all who know Christ as their Savior, whatever valley you must face:
I am glad therefore on your behalf: but, yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Romans 16:19-20
[bctt tweet=”When you finally know the truth of God’s Love for you, Satan’s lies are silenced.” username=”effiedarlene”]
[tweetthis]Whatever thorn in the flesh U face do not give up God’s love will heal U[/tweetthis]
[bctt tweet=”In Jesus we have all that we need to know joy, hope & be filled with steadfast love” username=”effiedarlene”]
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.