When addressing the subject of the tools evil uses to try to draw us away from our focus on our Lord Jesus, it is often easy to see them at work in other people. What is a bit more difficult, at times, is to recognize them working in our own lives on a personal level that is not so easily seen by others. Sometimes the struggles within us are far greater battles than any that show in our public lives. I am going to refer to a battle that has raged in silence within me for years because it is one I am most familiar with. Try as I will, even praying for relief from it, this battle is one my Lord has chosen to allow me to deal with, endure and resist it. His purpose is obvious, to strengthen me. The purpose of the servant of evil who comes to me is also obvious. But knowing the obvious does not help much. The battle I refer to is against pride. For myself I do not see pride as a major weapon against me except in one point and that one point is the poems and other writings I post on this forum. Certainly my hand wrote the words, but in my heart I know that even if I could live a thousand years, the subjects and at times even the very words used in those poems and writings would have never come to my own mind had I sat at a desk with the intent to write them. It is for this reason I have said they were given by the Spirit to be shared but never to be claimed by me and thus I do not put my name to them. Also, with certainty, evil has taken the opportunity to attempt to draw my own attention away from my Lord and focus it on these poems and writings and the way this is done is through the use of comments people make after reading them. Evil says it is not prideful to look forward to reading those comments. Evil says I have a right to know what people think of the writings and poems. It is pride. It is pride. It is pride. And so, as long as I continue to post on forums, the struggle continues. I have used this brief example from my own life in an attempt to show how innocent pride can appear but, in truth, pride is indeed a tool of the enemy, sometimes boldly open but more often a subtle seed trying to spread its roots in those who are unaware, roots which can be difficult to remove.
When addressing the subject of the tools evil uses to try to draw us away from our focus on our Lord Jesus, it is often easy to see them at work in other people. What is a bit more difficult, at times, is to recognize them working in our own lives on a personal level that is not so easily seen by others. Sometimes the struggles within us are far greater battles than any that show in our public lives. I am going to refer to a battle that has raged in silence within me for years because it is one I am most familiar with. Try as I will, even praying for relief from it, this battle is one my Lord has chosen to allow me to deal with, endure and resist it. His purpose is obvious, to strengthen me. The purpose of the servant of evil who comes to me is also obvious. But knowing the obvious does not help much. The battle I refer to is against pride. For myself I do not see pride as a major weapon against me except in one point and that one point is the poems and other writings I post on this forum. Certainly my hand wrote the words, but in my heart I know that even if I could live a thousand years, the subjects and at times even the very words used in those poems and writings would have never come to my own mind had I sat at a desk with the intent to write them. It is for this reason I have said they were given by the Spirit to be shared but never to be claimed by me and thus I do not put my name to them. Also, with certainty, evil has taken the opportunity to attempt to draw my own attention away from my Lord and focus it on these poems and writings and the way this is done is through the use of comments people make after reading them. Evil says it is not prideful to look forward to reading those comments. Evil says I have a right to know what people think of the writings and poems. It is pride. It is pride. It is pride. And so, as long as I continue to post on forums, the struggle continues. I have used this brief example from my own life in an attempt to show how innocent pride can appear but, in truth, pride is indeed a tool of the enemy, sometimes boldly open but more often a subtle seed trying to spread its roots in those who are unaware, roots which can be difficult to remove.
Dear Given,
AMEN! the big "I" is right in the middle of the word "sIn" and also in the middle of a bigger word, "prIde". It's so easy to be subtly drawn into it. Hopefully sometime today, I will be posting a devotion on how Jesus handled His own temptations and how we can in turn address ours. I'm working on that devotion, and just happened to scroll down and find your post. God bless you, my friend!