“…when you forgive people for what they have done, I forgive them too. For when I forgive- if indeed, I need to forgive anything- I do it in Christ’s presence because of you, in order to keep Satan from getting the upper hand over us; for we know what his plans are…” —2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (GNT)
Paul the apostle, in our opening scripture, made a very important point. He said, “For when I forgive- if indeed, I need to forgive anything- I do it in Christ’s presence because of you, in order to keep Satan from getting the upper hand over us”. In other words, he quickly forgives before the devil takes advantage of the situation. He understood the operations of the devil, so he chose to be smart about it.
Beloved, you must know that the devil is out to take advantage of God’s people. He knows he is defeated, and he knows he has no legal right over Christians. So what he does is take advantage of your weaknesses and use them against you. But you have a responsibility to put him where he belongs. How? By identifying your weaknesses before he exploits them. Your weakness, a lot of times, is the strength of the devil against you. When he knows that you have anger issues, he will use it against you so that he can destroy you. But when you know that you have anger issues, you begin to deliberately work on it through every measure possible, so the devil will not be able to penetrate through that door.
I have met people who admit that they have anger issues, but don’t know what to do to control their anger. Well, the truth is, if you don’t do anything about it, the devil will do something with it. So it is important that you deliberately work on it. It is not enough to say I want to control my anger; you must actually control it; otherwise, the devil will help you blow it out of proportion and put you in trouble. So make a conscious decision to work on your weaknesses. It could be anger, drinking, gluttony, unforgiveness, or even prayerlessness. Whatever it is you know the devil can take advantage of, work on it before the devil plays a smart one on you. Do not be ignorant of his devices.
You might ask, “How do I work on my weaknesses?” You can begin with prayers. Pray concerning the matter and add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance, godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. If these things are yours and abound, the devil will never be able to take advantage of you. (2 Peter 1:5-8) Hallelujah!
Today’s Rhema
Your weakness is the strength of the devil against you, therefore, work on your weaknesses and dismantle the devil’s agenda!
Confession for the Day
Thank you, heavenly Father, for opening my eyes to something very serious I have not been paying attention to. I declare that grace to curb my weaknesses rest on me this day and cause me to outwit the devil in all his pranks in the name of Jesus. Amen!
