Tactics to watch for

I've finished working on a brief Bible study for this evening about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  As I think about the import of that picture in my life, I'm really amazed.  He knows what is best for me; he leads me to where I must go for my greatest benefit.  He corrects me when I wander off (sometimes painfully).  He cares deeply for me, to the point of giving up his own life to be sure I would be part of his "flock."  Those are all powerful images to me.

As I saw the descriptions of the thief or robber in the same passage, I was reminded that Satan has no interest in my well-being, and he certainly does not want to correct me when I wander off of the correct path.  In fact; he will be most happy if I leave the path and wander into danger.

I'd like to remind you of some of the things Satan loves to do to get us lost in the wilderness of life:

  • Discourage - Satan loves to get people down in the dumps.
  • Distract - get our attention off of the important things or on too many things
  • Dissuade - get people headed in a wrong (or unfruitful) direction
  • Deter - slow us down in our progress in holiness and/or fruitfulness
Satan doesn't fight fair.  He works us over with these tactics and more just when we are most vulnerable to them.  

Maybe saying them out loud will help us to remember that we don't have to give in to them.  We can run back to our good shepherd who will bandage our wounds and nurse us back to strength so we can have an abundant life (John 10:10).

I'm not suggesting that Jesus came to be your personal genie so that you could have the life you always dreamed of, but that He came so that you could have the kind of life that is most worth living - one that is fruitful to the glory of God.  That kind of abundance is something I can really get excited about.  How about you?

What do you do to overcome these tricks of the evil one in your life?

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