2 Corinthians 2: 14-16
General Douglas MacArthur once said: “One of the most important rules of war is to know your enemy”
You need to know, first of all, who you are fighting. Satan! He’s the thief who has stolen your identity and distorted your self-image. If we are unaware of Satan’s schemes and lies we will be ineffective in the Spiritual warfare that is promised to come our way.
“Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
2 Corinthians 2: 11
You need to uncover Satan’s deceptions in your own thoughts and beliefs, and then replace those lies with the powerful truth of God’s Word.
Satan loves to distort the truth and convince you to believe it. From the moment you were born, he's worked to try to convince you that you are unloved, unwanted, insignificant, and worthless. Why? Because if he can get you to believe the lie, you will never be confident enough to do want God put you on this earth to do. When we believe the lies of Satan, it has a destructive effect on our personal lives.
The specific results of these false beliefs and their resulting actions vary from one person to the next. But one thing is certain; these lies do have a negative effect on the life of the believer. You will always behave in a manner consistent with how you see yourself. If you see yourself as having no value and no worth, then you’ll make decisions that agree with that perception.
Most of us are unaware of how thoroughly Satan has deceived us. He has led us blindly down a path of destruction, captives of our inability to meet our standards consistently, and slaves of low self-esteem.
Satan will use whatever situation he can to instill a poor sense of self-worth. Why? If you don’t value yourself, no one else will either. We assume we’re not valuable because of our past failures and the negative words spoken over us. So we behave in a way consistent with how we see ourselves, the way we dress, act and talk are a direct reflection of how we feel about our own worth. And we don’t expect God to really bless us or use us in any meaningful way.
Satan has shackled us in chains that keep us from experiencing the love, freedom and purposes of Christ in our life.
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 1: 22
Do you realize that from the time you were born Satan has had a plan to stop you from the plan of God in your life? It’s not a coincidence, it’s strategic and on purpose. Why? Because he does not want you to fulfill God’s plan for your life!
However, God has always had a special work for us to do, He tells us as much in Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work.”
Thank you Jesus! God wants to use you. He has a special plan and purpose, an assignment, for you to fulfill during your time on this Earth.
Although we all will continue to experience the fear of failure to some degree, we must realize that as Christians, we have the power provided by the Holy Spirit to lay aside deception in our thinking and be renewed in our minds by the truth of God’s Word.
“But this is not the way your learned Christ, assuming you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off the old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds” Ephesians 4: 20-23
Thankfully God has a solution for the fear of failure. He has given us a secure self-worth totally apart from our ability to perform. We have been justified, or placed in right standing before God, through Christ’s death on the cross, which paid for our sins.
GOD’S ANSWER: JUSTIFICATION
This means that God has not only forgiven me of my sins, but has also granted me the righteousness of Christ. Because of justification, I bear Christ’s righteousness and I am, therefore, fully pleasing to the Father.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Him also we have access by faith, into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5: 1-2
God transferred our sin to Christ and His righteousness to us. 2 Corinthians says,
“He made Him who had no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” Amen and Thank you Lord!!
Justification carries no guilt with it, and has no memory of past transgressions. Christ paid for all of our sins at the cross, past, present and future. We are completely forgiven by God!
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Hebrews 10: 17
By giving righteousness to us, God attributes Christ’s worth to us. The moment we accept Christ, God no longer sees us as condemned sinners. Instead, we are forgiven, we receive Christ’s righteousness, and God sees us as creatures that are fully pleasing to Him.
God desires for those of us who have been redeemed to experience the realities of his redemption. We are forgiven and righteous because of Christ’s sacrifice. Therefore we are pleasing to God in spite of our failures. This reality can replace our fear of failure with peace, hope and joy.
Failure need not be a millstone around your neck. Neither success nor failure is the proper basis of our self-worth. Christ alone is the source of our forgiveness, freedom, joy and purpose.
“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5: 4-5
Therefore, always remember this friend’s, you are deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally acceptable, and complete in Him.
God Bless and Press On
Larry
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