The Lord had told the children of Israel to dispossess the inhabitants of the land and to dwell in it. Then He gave them a warning. Numbers 33:55 says, “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you go to dwell.”

How can we make personal applications for our lives? First, we need to ask some questions. What harasses me? What is a constant irritant in my life? What remains a thorn in my side? Making a correct assessment requires an understanding between our standing and our state. In our standing, 1 Corinthians 2:16 says that we have the mind of Christ. In our state Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23 say that we must renew our minds.

Before salvation, we were bound in sin. Ephesians 2:3 says, “…we…conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind…” Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.” John 15:4 Amplified says, “Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. (Live in Me, and I will live in you.) Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.”

When we do anything apart from the Lord, we are acting in our state. When we dwell in Him, we are abiding in our standing. All flesh is state activity. When we follow the Holy Spirit, He will be leading us in righteousness. My working definition for righteousness comes from Hebrews 12:11 Amplified. It says, “…in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action…”

Let’s go back to these words in Numbers. “…those you let remain…” What unresolved issues have you let remain? What harasses you that is an irritant or a thorn? You can define them through stubborn negative habits, negative dialogue, and fleshly reactions. Proverbs 4:23 says to guard our heart with all diligence. 2 Peter 1:5 says that with diligence we are to add certain inward graces to our faith.

Diligence is a character quality that is developed. Romans 5:3-4 gave the progression of our trials. They produce perseverance, character, and hope. Verse 4 in the Amplified says, “And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character (of this sort) produces (the habit of) joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.”

Negligence is a negative character quality. The Shulamite woman in Song of Solomon 1:6 said, “…but my own vineyard I have not kept.” The lazy man of Proverbs 24:30-34, through negligence, allowed his vineyard to become, “…all overgrown with thorns, its surface was covered with nettles; its stone wall was broken down…” Our fleshly reactions spring up from the unresolved issues that we have let remain. How are you keeping your vineyard?

Our fleshly reactions reveal the root that we have neglected, and that should have been replaced through the diligence of renewing our mind. Ephesians 4:23 Amplified says, “And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude).” It is not a hit and miss correction, but one that is constant. If you have been negligent to take care of the hidden, then confess it as sin. Lay hold of Scriptures that will help you root out and destroy those fleshly things that harass you.

Isaiah 45:1 was written about a pagan king that God used as His instrument, “…to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him te double doors, so that the gates will not be shut.”

 
God’s promise in verses 2-3 was, “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel.”

The above verses are a great illustration of the power of intercession. The Lord uses us as His instruments to break the iron bands that hold prisoners captive. Psalm 105:18 was about Joseph. The Amplified says, “His feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in chains of iron and his soul entered into the iron.” How descriptive of one bound in sin.

Luke 4:18 says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” The Amplified says of the oppressed, “…(who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity).”

How many do you know that are oppressed? The present worldwide crises certainly has increased that number. The Lord is a Strategist. He has an army, us, at His command. Paul told the folks in Ephesus to pray without ceasing. Jesus told His disciples why they couldn’t help the young epileptic. Matthew 17:20 says, “…Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

John 15:7 says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” Did you notice the condition? When we pray His words that are hidden in our heart. All our abiding-communion with Him is through His word. He is watching over His word to perform it. It will never return to Him void. When we pray His word, He directs it like a deadly arrow right into the enemy’s bullseye.

Psalm 149:6-9 says, “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetter of iron; to execute on them the written judgment–this honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!” We intermingle praise with intercession.

2 Timothy 2:25-26 says this about captives, “…if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” See how opposite this is to what God has called us to do? We glorify Him when we do His will. Of course, satan will use every deceptive temptation to derail us.

The prodigal son is a picture of hope for all prodigals. We can pray this word over them. Luke 15:17-18 says, “But when he came to himself, he said…”I will arise and go to my father…” Let us intercede for those in our lives, our nation, and the world that we see are held captive. Jesus came to set the captives free, and He has called us to do the same.

Intercession is covert ministry. The enemy has no clue of our position. I like to think of intercession as an ambush. We see this picture in Joshua 8:3. Joshua hid 30,000 men behind Ai. The folks in Ai had no clue. At the key moment, through Joshua’s signal, the ambush came out of hiding to set the city on fire. The enemy was defeated.

When we hide God’s word in our heart, it becomes our covert power that the enemy has no way to counter. God’s word will not return to Him void. It will accomplish what He sends it out to do. Therefore when we use His hidden word as our weapon, it will be like a straight arrow that hits its mark.

Luke 4:1 says that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. He was hungry. He had a felt need. What did the devil tempt Him with? A way that would fulfill His hunger. The devil told Him to command a stone to become bread. In verse 4 He answered, “…It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Jesus countered every one of the devil’s temptations with ‘It is written’ which stopped the temptations. 

Jesus gave us an excellent example to incorporate. He used His word as a weapon to end the temptation’s enticement. Every temptation comes with a hidden intent to destroy our faith. An enticement is never seen as a temptation. The trap is set and we fall prey. James 1:14 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

Proverbs 7:21 says, “With her enticing speech she caused him to yield…” Verse 23 says, “Till an arrow struck his liver, as a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life.” Though this is speaking of a young man void of understanding, lured by a harlot, we can make an application. Proverbs 1:17 says, “Surely, in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.”

The devil’s traps are always set and baited to catch us unawares. If we are not daily in God’s word, observing truth and making it our personal application, our faith will be weakened. We become easy prey. 1 Peter 5:8 says that our adversary is seeking whom he can devour. Verse 9 says to resist him, steadfast in our faith. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing God’s word.

That means that we need to keep our heart inclined. Incline means to listen attentively. Psalm 119:36-37 says, “Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.” 1 Samuel 12:21 says, “And do not turn aside, for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.”

Galatians 6:1 says, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” This is where intercession is key. We stand in the gap made by their sin. We can encourage them through God’s word. Their heart though, needs to be opened first through our intercession. As we pray Scripture over them in our prayer, God will intervene. He watches over His word to perform it. 

Never give up. Though we don’t see something happening, remember that our intercession is covet. It is under cover. We may be tempted to be that person’s Holy Spirit. That is a tempting enticement. Yet, we must remember that apart from the Lord we can do nothing. It is the divine work of the Holy Spirit that brings conviction. It is our intercession that fulfills the Lord’s desire for a man to stand in the gap.

Jesus is a wonderful example for us of intercession. Isaiah 53:12 says, “…because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Ezekiel 22:30 helps us understand what intercession is. It says, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Let’s go back to Balaam. He was enticed by Balak to curse the children of Israel. When we read the whole narrative, in hindsight, we can wonder at why he didn’t just take God at His word. Take note for your own life. That would have been the end of the enticement. Apparently Balak’s enticement lured Balaam’s hidden flesh to the surface. I say that because of the verses in the New Testament about him.

In my Bible Numbers 25 is entitled: Israel’s Harlotry in Moab. Verse 3 says, “So Israel joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.” The Lord told Moses to hang the offending leaders. Then the Lord sent a plague. In verse 6 one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman and had sex with her in the tabernacle. In verse 7 Phinehas rose up and took a javelin in his hand. Verse 8 says, “And he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through…So the plague was stopped…” Verse 9 says that 24,000 died in the plague.

Psalm 106:30-31 says, “Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped. And that was accounted to him for righteousness for all generations forevermore.” When we believe, and take God at His word, that is accounted to us as righteousness. Believing and acting on what God has written is faith. As we go through our trials, satan will use enticements to get us to do things in our own strength. 

Intervene, intercept, and intercession are all actions of stepping in on someone’s behalf. Jesus made intercession for us. Phinehas intervened for the children of Israel. God intercepted Saul of Tarsus. Our intercession is believing God’s word, and bringing our requests to Him on behalf of others. We see a gap, we make a wall through intercession.

There are huge gaps in our nation. How can we effectively intercede? We can use Scripture as part of our prayer. That is what Paul did for the churches. Ephesians 1:15-19. Colossians 1:9-19. Philippians 1:3-11. These are just a few examples. We pull principles, promises, and power from His word and add them into our prayer. 

Let’s go back to Balaam. Hopefully we can pick up key understanding to apply to our own lives. We will always be enticed with deception. That is how the enemy of our soul operates. 2 Peter 2:15 says of false teachers, “They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.” Let me slip in Romans 1:18 which says that we suppress truth in unrighteousness.” 

Jude verse 3 was an exhortation to contend earnestly for the faith. Why? There are deceptive enticements set up to destroy our faith. Verse 11 says, “Woe to them! For they have…run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit…” Balaam was not allowed to curse Israel, but he was the one responsible for leading them into sin through his greed.

Proverbs 15:27 says, “He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.” One last verse about Balaam. This was an indictment against the church at Pergamos. Revelation 2:14 says, “…those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.” Let us heed the Lord’s warnings, and use them as our tools for effective intercession that will stop this plague.

Wheedle means: coax, persuade, entice, or lure. In Numbers 22 and 23 Balak is a picture of our flesh. He was wheedling when he tried to convince Balaam against what God had said. Our flesh wheedles when we present an argument or our alternatives to the Lord. If we have a ‘but’ when God calls us to do something, that is an example of how our flesh wheedles.

Heart obedience is a joyful response because we want to please the Lord. However satan will cause the lies that he has hidden to prevent our obedience. Let’s go back to Eve and the serpent. Genesis 3:1 says, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” He asked her what God had said. When she told him, he cast doubt, then contradicted God’s words. Verse 4 says, “…you will not surely die.” All of satan’s lies contradict God. They oppose His way.

When Balaam disobeyed the Lord, He opposed him. He opened his donkey’s mouth. Can you imagine it? Then He used impossible situations to block his fleshly driven ways. When He opened Balaam’s eyes, he understood what had been happening to block him. Who or what has the Lord been using to oppose your fleshly ways? He is very creative. For Balaam He used a talking donkey, narrow places, and walls he couldn’t get around.

The next time you feel frustrated, you might ask: what way am I going that is contrary to Your way? Balaam didn’t know why his way was blocked until the Lord opened his eyes. Ephesians 1:18 was part of Paul’s prayer for the folks in the church in Ephesus. It says, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling…”

Joy is a high watermark of an authentic follower of Jesus. Our heart-joy keeps us sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Acts 16 is a great example for us. Paul and his team sought to go preach the gospel in Asia. Verse 1 says, :…they were forbidden  by the Holy Spirit…” In verse 2 they sought to go into Bithynia. It says, “…but the Spirit did not permit them.” 

I need to visit 1 Thessalonians 5:24 often. It says, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” Our flesh always opposes God’s way which is narrow. Our flesh does not like to be hemmed in. It gets frustrated easily when its way is blocked. Yet there is marvelous fruit from God frustrating our way. When we yield, He will cause us to course correct. Acts 16:10 revealed to Paul and his team where the Lord wanted them to go. 

They went to Macedonia. The fruit of that obedience was eternal. We reap the benefits of it through the book of Philippians and Thessalonians. Psalm 37:23-24 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

I want to illustrate the root of frustration through the story of Balaam. When God says, ‘Do not’ and we do, He will block our way. Numbers 22:1-35 is the narrative. The king of the Moabites was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. He sent his men to hire Balaam to curse them. God gave clear instruction when Balaam recounted what the men said. 

Verse 12 says, “…You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” Balaam went. Verse 22 says, “Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him…” The donkey saw the Angel. Verse 23 says, “…standing in the way with a drawn sword in His hand…” The donkey turned aside and Balaam struck her.

Verse 24 is a great description of frustration, “…a narrow path…with a wall  on this side and a wall on that side.” Have you ever felt hemmed in when you tried to do something? Verse 26 says that the Angel stood in a narrow place, “…where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.” First the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, then He opened Balaam’s eyes. The Angel asked him why he struck his donkey three times. Verse 32 says, “…Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.”

Years ago the Holy Spirit gave me a working definition for frustration: God intercepting my way to redirect me into His way. When we push through in our flesh, the Lord will block us. Romans 8:8 says, “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” What else doesn’t please God? Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him…”

Paul gave definitive clarity to what sin is. Romans 14:23 says, “…for whatever is not from faith is sin.” Certainly, anything that we do in our flesh is absent of faith. Have you ever considered that when God says, ‘Do not’ and we do that there is a hidden lie behind our disobedience? Let’s look at a few examples from  Scripture.

Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing…” Matthew 6:25 says, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life…” Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you…” What is the common denominator? Self focus! Every fiery dart lie that we accept penetrates deep into our heart. From that one lie, satan will build an inner fortress of lies that will opaque our view of the Lord.

Every lie is planted to defeat our faith. Faith is believing God’s word and acting upon it. Any resistance to His will will be blocked because our way is perverse. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” Do we really hate what God hates? Proverbs 3:32 Amplified says, “For the perverse are an abomination (extremely disgusting and detestable) to the Lord; but His confidential communion and secret counsel are with the (uncompromisingly) righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him).”

Do you see satan’s scheme? He will do whatever he can through his lies to break up our communion with the Lord. When we seek our way, we depart from His way. It is only as we yield to the Holy Spirit that we can be led. The rest of Hebrews 11:6 says, “…for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” There is nothing on this earth that is worth blocking our intimate communion with Him.

1 Peter 1:14-15 says, “As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in ALL your conduct.” We cannot be holy in our conduct in our own strength. That is impossible. Where do we get our strength? As we walk in the Spirit. Yielding to the Holy Spirit will help us to reckon ourselves dead to our flesh. Dead things have no response. 

1 Peter 1:22 says that we purify our mind, will, and emotions, “…in obeying the truth through the Spirit…” John 16:13 says that the Holy Spirit, “…will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” In John 14:16 Jesus said that the Father would, “…give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.” He described the Holy Spirit as, “The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

1 John 2:27 says, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” John 8:31-32 says, “…If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Let me make one thing clear. Our standing position in Christ makes us holy. It is our present state that the Holy Spirit works with. In the above verses from 1 Peter, he used the words obedient and obeying. Let’s look at Jesus’ example. Hebrews 5:8-9 says, “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things that He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”

We are children of God being taught by the Holy Spirit how to obey. Are we learning all that the Holy Spirit wants to teach us? Trials are His training ground. Hebrews 12:11 says, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

We will only be trained by our trials when we embrace them fully. James 1:3 in the J. B. Phillips encouraged his readers to welcome their trials like friends. Maybe it will help if we picture a knock on our door. We open it and find our trial waiting. What is our fleshly reaction? Slam the door shut. However, if we have been trained by previous trials, we will open the door wide and fully embrace what stands before us.

Amos 9:9 was written about the children of Israel, yet we can take comfort from His words. It says, “…I will…sift the house of Israel…as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.” Jesus told Peter that satan wanted to sift him as wheat. Luke 22:32 says, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

Our sifting-trials are divinely orchestrated and tempered. All the while Jesus is interceding for us. Every trial, no matter its magnitude, purifies our faith. It brings up the hidden dross of unbelief. Any lie of satan that we have believed is like a land mine ready to explode. We remain unaware until the Lord uses our trial to reveal it. We can fully embrace each trial knowing that it is for our spiritual growth, strengthening for our faith, and the impartation of His grace so we can endure for His glory.

Numbers 20 should be a wake up call for all of us. Before I continue, please ask yourself: what have I not believed that has caused me to take matters into my own hands? The narrative is another test for the children of Israel and their leaders. Contention arose because there was no water. Verse 3 says, “And the people contended with Moses…” 

In their contention, they brought up their past again. Verse 5 says, “And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” They had totally forgotten about the other time there was no water. Moses had struck the rock and water came out for everyone.

The Lord instructed Moses and Aaron to gather the congregation. Verse 8 says, “…Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water…” Watch now how the scene played out. In verse 10 Moses took matters into his own hands. His hidden anger at the people was revealed. It says, “…Hear now you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses struck the rock in his anger. 

Verse 12 says, “Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Derailed. Chilling. Hallow means to make the Lord holy in the eyes of the people. Moses disobeyed God’s instructions to speak to the rock before their eyes. 

Contention means: heated disagreement, dispute, argument, discord, and quarrelsome. Proverbs 20:3 says, “It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel.” The Amplified says, “…to cease from strife and keep aloof from it…” Proverbs 29:11 Amplified says, “A (self-confident) fool utters all his anger, but a wise man holds it back and stills it.”

Interpersonal relationships are God’s way of teaching us harmony through unity. There will be clashes of will, fleshly reactions, offenses, and contentions. When they come up, we are instructed in His word how to navigate through them. We must believe them and put them into practice. 1 Peter 1:22 says, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

As the result of an angry man, I suffered another brain injury in 1997. I live with those effects even today. Your situation may not involve the physical, but rather emotional or spiritual consequences from someone’s anger. Jesus said that offenses would come. They are part of our lives. Yet, in the face of them, do we present the Lord as holy?

Ephesians 4:31-32 is key instruction for our interpersonal relationships. It says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” We glorify the Lord when we live in heart forgiveness.

Paul stayed the course the Lord had set out before him. He left us a written testimony. One of his ways was recorded in Philippians 3:13-14. It says, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Note that the words, ‘forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward’ are fluid in motion. I like to think of this verse through the illustration of trapeze artists. They have to let go of the first bar in order to grasp the oncoming bar. If they did not let go of the first bar, they would be injured. When we hold onto our past, we remain stationary and inert to reach out. 

On November 9, 2018 the Holy Spirit gave me these words: the forgetting is the empowerment to reach. Those words helped me let go of something that changed the course of my path. I had not been able to attend my church because of the brain injury 1/2/17. However, the Lord led me to another that was within driving distance when I could finally drive again.

Paul wrote another way that helped him stay his course. Philippians 4:11-12 says, “…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Verse 13 was his empowerment. It says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

The moment we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, our pathway changed. We, who walked the course of this world, began our journey of progressive sanctification. Before, our minds were dark, our thoughts were sinful, and we were alienated from God. Salvation brought us into a new family. John 1:13 says, “Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Romans 8:15 says, “…you received  the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba Father.”

Scripture was written for our learning. As we read the Old Testament, 1 Corinthians 10:6 says, “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” As we read the New Testament, we are given sound doctrine that will enlighten our understanding. As we progress in our sanctification, old things begin to fall away.

Ephesians 4:1-2 says, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.” Verse 32 continued that instruction. It says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

One of the key ways that we can successfully stay our course is through heart forgiveness. We have to remember that satan will use others to try to derail us. The Lord uses others to hone our heart. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Iron rubbing against iron causes friction. Our progressive sanctification process teaches us how to live in harmony with others.

Who do you believe you are at the core of your being? In Matthew 16:13-16 Jesus was talking to His disciples. He asked in verse 13, “…Who do men say that I, the Son of Man am?” They told Him. In verse 15 He asked, “…But who do you say that I am?” From Peter’s answer we see there was a difference of belief. Verse 16 says, “Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

What do others believe about you from what you say and do? What do you believe about yourself? Our heart’s core is our belief center. Every thought originates from there. Our thoughts become our words, then our actions or behavior. Our behavior reveals our character. Since satan is a master deceiver, he will seek to attack our core beliefs. He does that through fiery dart lies.

His lies are like the bullet of a sharp shooter assassin. They come by stealth. In my personal experience, they come in the first person. “I can’t…” “I’m not…” “I’m overwhelmed.” They are seemingly just a thought that pops into my mind. I had a broken record. I repeatedly said, “I can’t believe…” until a dear friend pointed it out to me. She gave me her own story.

She was at Yosemite. She had asked the Lord to give her a place all to herself. She hiked into this one little lake area. No one was around. It was quiet and peaceful. She sat down on a flat rock overlooking the lake and said, “I can’t believe it…” She had prayed, but when the Lord answered her prayer she spoke the words of unbelief. Immediately a very screechy female voice broke the silence as a husband and wife sat near her. Lesson learned, and she passed on her lesson to me. I’m passing it on to you. 

Matthew 12:34 says, “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 15:19 says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts…” A well placed fiery dart targets our faith. That is why the Lord gave us His armor. It protects every aspect of our walk with Him. When David was about to face Goliath, Saul tried to give him his armor. 

1 Samuel 17:39-40 says, “…And David said to Saul, I cannot walk in these, for I have not tested them. So David took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near the Philistine.”

David was a shepherd. His sling was his tested armor. He knew what he could do with it. He had proven it over and over as he kept his father’s sheep. When we hide God’s word in our heart, it is our proven weapon. We can whip it out at any moment to defeat satan’s attack against our mind. That is what Jeremiah did. He was sinking down into a negative spiral, until he recalled a truth that changed the direction of his thoughts.

If our core belief is not in God’s faithfulness, winds of adversity, barrages of lies, and negative dialogues will cause our faith to falter. Here is one of my anchor verses. 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” Our belief in God’s faithfulness will be challenged by satan’s fiery dart lies. However we can hide in His character of Faithfulness behind our door shield of faith and be safe. We will stand through His promises as we become a partaker of His nature, according to 2 Peter 1:4.