“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.” Matthew 7:1
Well, I never! Was something that was heard often when someone acted differently than you thought they should. I used to be like that, until one day in my judgment, I heard the Lord say, “Well then, maybe you should.” Now, I’m not saying God caused the same thing to happen to me, because Jehovah God doesn’t work that way. But that prideful, haughty attitude did open an entrance for the enemy to work and one of his favorite past times is making things happen so you think it’s God causing it. Satan loves to keep you ensnared so he can steal your peace and joy and anything else he can.
It’s amazing that the enemy hasn’t caught on yet, that in trying to get us to blame God for the circumstances, God is actually using it to bring us closer to Him and see how much we need His love, forgiveness and grace. For instance, I always was an upbeat glass half full person. I was always happy and could find the best in every situation. I was very hard on people who were depressed. As a matter of fact, I would tell people dealing with depression to get over it and move on and I was quite proud of myself for being so grounded. But then depression happened to me, and it wasn’t pretty. I found out you just don’t “get over it”.
I needed help and everyone I turned to seemed to leave me feeling more empty that I was before I spoke with them. Then one day while watching John Hagee, he said if you need prayer and help, call this number and trained counselors will help you. So I called and upon hearing the sweet southern voice that asked “how can I help you” I broke down. I was sobbing so hard, she finally said, “you need more help than I can give you.” So she got her supervisor, who said the same thing! Why did that happen? Because the enemy didn’t want me to be free, he wanted me to hang up. But then a new voice came on the line, he introduced himself as Pastor Jerry Hobbs and again I broke, but this time after trying to calm me down, he began to pray and it literally dropped me to my knees. As he prayed with an authority I never heard before I felt the heaviness lift off of me and I could talk with him. Over the next few weeks and months, he taught me through Scripture that God was trying to set me free from pride and all the other things that comes with it. He taught me to ask God the root cause of what He was trying to show me. I didn’t just change, I was being transformed! Holy spirit revealed to me it wasn’t my circumstance, it was my identity! See my identity was in what I did, not who I was because of my relationship with Him.
I learned that which was meant for evil, God meant for good, for the salvation of many (Gen. 50:20). I never thought at that point I’d end up being a pastor, but God did and I bet Satan wishes he never would have tempted me to be so judgmental and tried to destroy me with it. What are you dealing with that feels destructive? Perhaps you too should ask God what He’s trying to show you, so He can turn around what the enemy meant to keep you trapped. Oh and don’t forget the end of that verse that reminds us it’s not only for our benefit, but for the present and eternal lives of others.
Leave a Reply