Talk Back and Suit Up – Part 1

By Linda Grabeman

Let’s be honest.

At 3 am, when we are jerked out of sleep and whisked away to a dreadful land called:

“What If”, the Land of Imagined Happenings, our fears feel real.

Let’s go to the beginning of those fears.

The shortest version of Genesis 1-4:

Paradise. The perfect couple. Life is GOOD.

A Snake slithers in. Hssss.

The perfect couple falls for his lies.

Paradise closed. Perfect couple kicked out. Life is HARD.

 

But between the Snake and the “See ya”, Satan gave two thank-you gifts to the NOT SO PERFECT couple.

“And as they ate it, suddenly they became aware of their nakedness and were embarrassed. So they strung fig leaves together to cover themselves around the hips. That evening they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden; they hid among the trees.”

Genesis 3:7-8 (The Living Bible)

Did you find the hidden gifts in the picture?

Disgrace and Dread

These dubious gifts chain us to our past, ruin our present and cloud our future.

 

Enter HUGE time lapse. Thousands of years.

Good Friday. Things look BAD for Jesus. Satan is throwing his VICTORY PARTY!

Easter Sunday. Jesus LIVES! Satan LOSES!

LOSER, but still around. That’s the BAD NEWS.

The GOOD NEWS is he is GOING DOWN.

Back to those leftover gifts from Loser Satan.

They. Still. Harass. Us.

The same way they did in the Garden.

But that’s GOOD NEWS because when we know his tactics, we can beat him!

He purposely terrifies us about our health, our marriage, our families, our livelihood.

 

IT’S TIME TO TALK BACK.

ULTIMATE LOSER, don’t you MESS with my family or keep my children from reaching their dreams.

Don’t harass my husband, our marriage, or our careers.

And you can’t keep us from fulfilling our God-given purpose either!

Do you hear me, Satan?

IT’S TIME TO SUIT UP, WARRIOR.

“Take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.”

Ephesians 6:13-18 (The Message)

The next time he comes calling at 3 a.m.,

Call his bluff,

            Call him his right name,

                        Call him conquered.

His fiery darts won’t pierce us,

but our sword, the Word of God, will carve him up.

And when all the shouting is over, we’ll be standing.

In the mighty name of Jesus.

Sleep well.

Love,

Linda