Pastor Ellen's Daily Devo -- Guilt Trips
Posted on March 13, 2010 with 0 comments
Revelation 12:9-10 “The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice say: “Now have come the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”
We all don’t like to be accused, whether we did it or not. The tone of accusation always stings, and our defenses automatically go up. We might blurt out, “No I didn’t!” (Even if we are guilty as sin!). Or we might cave and feel defeated and unworthy. Either way, the accuser wins because we end up feeling not so good about ourselves and what we said or did.
Jesus wants us to know that Satan’s best offense is his ability to hurl accusations at us, whether or not they are true. By undermining our confidence, Satan can get a firmer grip on our hearts and souls and try to erode our faith in God and our relationship with Jesus. Since it says in this verse that he is hurled down to earth, it is highly likely that he is roaming about looking for his next victim of prey to accuse. And since we, as flesh and blood, are prone to flaws, misjudgments, and plain old sin, those accusations (whether whispered in our ears or stated boldly in front of others) can weaken our self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-worth. Yet the key to feeling good about ourselves is really never about what we can do or say on our own merit. It really is about submitting ourselves (flaws and all) to our God who died for us and loves us (flaws and all). He doesn’t accuse us or belittle us or shame us. He just wants us to trust in His grace and love. And the amazing thing is that He will, through the power of His spirit, make us pure, holy, and righteous! He will allow us to feel His peace and love flowing abundantly in our hearts and souls to deflect any and all of Satan’s accusations. So, bring it on, Satan – you can’t defeat us with your lies and accusations! We have Jesus to cover us with His grace and love all the days of our lives!
Dear Jesus, I know Satan does guilt trips on me, and I fall for them every time! Help me to go to you for your grace and love and protection! Thank you for loving me just the way I am. In your name, Amen.
We all don’t like to be accused, whether we did it or not. The tone of accusation always stings, and our defenses automatically go up. We might blurt out, “No I didn’t!” (Even if we are guilty as sin!). Or we might cave and feel defeated and unworthy. Either way, the accuser wins because we end up feeling not so good about ourselves and what we said or did.
Jesus wants us to know that Satan’s best offense is his ability to hurl accusations at us, whether or not they are true. By undermining our confidence, Satan can get a firmer grip on our hearts and souls and try to erode our faith in God and our relationship with Jesus. Since it says in this verse that he is hurled down to earth, it is highly likely that he is roaming about looking for his next victim of prey to accuse. And since we, as flesh and blood, are prone to flaws, misjudgments, and plain old sin, those accusations (whether whispered in our ears or stated boldly in front of others) can weaken our self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-worth. Yet the key to feeling good about ourselves is really never about what we can do or say on our own merit. It really is about submitting ourselves (flaws and all) to our God who died for us and loves us (flaws and all). He doesn’t accuse us or belittle us or shame us. He just wants us to trust in His grace and love. And the amazing thing is that He will, through the power of His spirit, make us pure, holy, and righteous! He will allow us to feel His peace and love flowing abundantly in our hearts and souls to deflect any and all of Satan’s accusations. So, bring it on, Satan – you can’t defeat us with your lies and accusations! We have Jesus to cover us with His grace and love all the days of our lives!
Dear Jesus, I know Satan does guilt trips on me, and I fall for them every time! Help me to go to you for your grace and love and protection! Thank you for loving me just the way I am. In your name, Amen.