I’ve recently written or shared messages about our need to be careful not to “fellowship” with sin and darkness and that we have to separate ourselves from those we know are indulging in sinful life styles; that we can’t compromise or participate in any way in what we know is contrary to what the Word of God teaches. As is often the case, those messages were written and shared with specific situations involving FAM Fellowship members in mind, especially as I had been trying to persuade one member of the danger of conversing and communicating so much with someone who was so blatantly and unapologetically making choices to live and act contrary to the Word of God. And the Lord ended up using that to remind me of a very important message but as He so often does, He blessed me in the process as well. So I want to share as much as possible without revealing too much about the personal situations of others and still give the Lord the glory He so richly deserves by sharing my personal testimony and a very important lesson for all of us.

What the Lord reminded me of is that we all have to keep 1 Corinthians 10:12 (NKJV) in mind if we’re ever inclined to think we are beyond the reach and influence of the devil, because it says Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.. In other words, we’re ALL capable of falling, so we have to be on the alert, and be especially mindful of what 1 Peter 5:5-8 teaches; it says Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

That’s why it’s SO important for us to know the Word of God and then to put it into PRACTICE in our lives (Matthew 7:24-29), even when it’s very difficult to understand or do. God’s Word is a very powerful weapon and shield against the devil (Ephesians 6:10-17) and when we dismiss it or are disobedient to it in even what seems insignificant ways, we give the devil an opening into our lives, and he will NOT miss taking full advantage when we make his demonic and destructive work so easy. And since the devil always comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) and he’s the father of lies (John 8:44), we know he works through creating doubt and discouragement. And just as he did with Eve all those years ago, his method of operation hasn’t changed; he still says “Did God REALLY say…?” And when we listen to him or enter into dialogue with him, we’ll probably lose and miss out on the awesome blessings God so wants to give us and end up with the same kind of disastrous results (Genesis 3)! And since the devil isn’t stupid and is ever so clever and cunning, his questions always make sense, because they’re intended to entice us to go right on down the road with him, especially when he knows we’re not consistent when it comes to taking those thoughts captive and making them obedient to Jesus Christ/the Word (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). Unfortunately, he’s right way too often, because we are ALL capable of doing that, and when we think we’re not, we had best be careful, lest we fall!

Now, getting back to a particular situation involving one of our members; as God is ALWAYS faithful to do, He does not allow us to continue in sin without bringing consequences, which is exactly what happened in this case as well. And as expected, that created a great deal of emotional pain and turmoil, so my counsel was sought again after a long time of not hearing from this particular member. Naturally, I felt bad for them, but couldn’t and wouldn’t veer from the Word in terms of counsel. Yet, they were intent on repeating the details of the situation over and over again and seemed a lot more interested in figuring out how God could make what was clearly wrong according to His Word right. After repeatedly attempting to keep the conversation focused on God’s Word and what it teaches and finally realizing that was not what this person wanted to hear, I said that I wasn’t going to discuss the matter any further. But the damage was already done, because I had not taken my own counsel to another member concerning the same situation! And even though these conversations took place over a couple of days, almost immediately, the devil started sowing seeds of doubt in my own mind about my personal stand for marriage restoration. Needless to say, I was very surprised by that, because it’s been a long time since I’ve had any doubt about that in my mind at all. But at the time, I did not realize what was going on. And even though I almost never share anything so personal here for obvious reasons, after a couple of days, I feel very strongly led to share how the Lord used this situation to teach me a very important lesson and blessed me at the same time.

Counseling someone who abandons their stand for marriage restoration and gets involved in an inappropriate relationship requires taking a strong stand on what God teaches about marriage after divorce and the only possible grounds found in God’s Word that justifies remarriage after divorce. Yet, by indulging in conversation about that situation and attempting to defend God’s Word as I did, I allowed the devil access to my mind and spirit and I actually started questioning if I had REALLY heard from God, or if I could have misunderstood what I had felt very confident about hearing; with thoughts like maybe my stand wasn’t about the actual restoration of my marriage; maybe it was more about remaining single and faithful to my vows as a means to establishing this ministry to help others and for the Lord’s glory. Even though I didn’t realize how the devil had worked through what I had done contrary to the counsel I had wisely given to someone else, I knew I couldn’t let that kind of doubt take hold in my heart or spirit, because I knew it could become a stronghold if not dealt with immediately. I had NO doubt that I was to remain single or be reconciled to my husband (1 Corinthians 7:10-11), and I had always been pretty confident that God had assured me that he would restore my marriage despite how unlikely it seems and that He had confirmed it over and over again in many ways in the past. But a nagging seed of doubt had been planted, and I knew it HAD to be dealt with. So I did what we sometimes have to do when we find ourselves in doubt about what God is calling us to do, and I asked God for a very specific sign; one which I knew was VERY unlikely and one I felt sure would take an act of God to make happen. And I set a very specific deadline, which made it even more unlikely. The sign involved specific communication from my husband, which for various reasons, I knew was extremely unlikely, especially in the time frame requested. I did tell the Lord that it wouldn’t make any significant difference in my life either way, but that I just needed to get rid of that doubt once and for all so that the devil couldn’t use it against me or hinder my work in the ministry. Well, without going into details, the Lord did give me that sign and went even further than I had requested by doing it in a manner less likely than I even had the nerve or faith to ask for! Praise God for His faithfulness!

So in addition to being reminded how important it is to make sure that we practice the counsel we so freely give to others and that none of us are beyond falling prey to the wicked schemes of the devil, the Lord confirmed once again in a very meaningful way how important it is to always seek HIS wisdom whenever we doubt or feel unsure of His will; and how faithful He will be to answer when we call out to Him (Jeremiah 33:3)! So I went to bed Saturday night, thinking the Lord had answered my prayer and that I must have been mistaken all of the other times I thought I had heard from Him. After all, once we ask the Lord for such a specific sign and don’t get it, we have to accept that answer too, even if it isn’t what we want or expect. I wasn’t really sad; just a little surprised, but resigned and resolved to make peace with the answer I had received and that it wouldn’t really make any meaningful difference in my life or the ministry. And oh how wonderfully faithful the Lord was to provide confirmation that seeking HIS wisdom was the right thing to do, because there’s little doubt the devil would have soon tried to convince me that I shouldn’t have done that in the first place! But the following message from Glenn Jackson, which arrived by email that night, was perfect assurance that seeking the Lord’s wisdom is what we should always do. And reading THE WISDOM WE ARE CALLED TO WALK IN AND LIVE BY IS “NOT OF THIS AGE” makes it very clear why it is so important to always seek and rely on God’s wisdom!

But God wasn’t done yet and He certainly proved once again that He will ALWAYS exceed our every hope and expectation and then some; just like Ephesians 3:2021 says! It declares Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. And perhaps it was even a test; maybe God wanted to see what my reaction would be when I didn’t get the answer I had expected. In either case, I received the specific sign and answer I had asked for very early the next morning and was totally amazed and had to laugh at myself and how God had “one upped” me!

However, it actually took another day to realize how I had opened the door for Satan’s attack by failing to take my own counsel concerning the Bible’s warning to guard against association (including conversation) with fellow Christians who refuse to turn back to the Lord when confronted with the sin in their lives, because we just can’t fellowship with the sin and darkness caused by the devil’s deception without expecting it to have some kind of negative impact on us. And as difficult as it may be to understand, we can’t afford to ignore the Bible’s warning about that, because Galatians 6:1 says Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. And just talking to someone about what they’re doing further encourages and indulges them in their folly, and jeopardizes our own walk with the Lord and our stand for marriage restoration, which 1 Corinthians 5 makes clear with very unambiguous instructions not to fellowship with Christians who refuse to turn from their sinful ways. Verse 5 even says hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. Yet, just as with our spouses, we naturally want to “help” those we love when we see them straying away from the Lord and it seems wrong not to try to somehow influence them to turn back, but we all have to be very careful to Practice God’s Word right down to the smallest detail; otherwise we give the devil an opportunity he will never miss! And NONE of us can withstand his attack when we let our guard down through any measure of disobedience. God’s Word is meant to empower and protect us, but we can’t rely on that when we don’t do what it teaches. So I thank the Lord for this important lesson and for His faithfulness to bless us when we sincerely seek His wisdom and call out to Him. So let’s be faithful to DO what the Word teaches and always seek the Lord’s wisdom when we’re faced with doubt or discouragement, because just as promised, God will always hear us and answer us and show us great and mighty things we do not know and we will indeed be blessed and encouraged!

Posted Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 10:50 pm in Seeds Of Faith.