QUENCH THE FLAMING ARROW
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans: Blus die Brandpyl
Translator: Robin Barker
Most of the people I know, and truthfully, everyone I know, myself included, have one or more weaknesses in our lives. Be it a physical, or psychic, or both, or maybe more and you can take my word for it, as I will explain, satan knows everyone’s, including my weaknesses and he will take every possible chance that he gets, to exploit those weaknesses and use it against us.
Gratefully and how wonderful it is, that our Lord also knows our weaknesses and unlike satan, He wants to help us overcome those weaknesses.
He even personally hung on the cross, so that it is possible for us, concerning our weaknesses, to overcome our mistakes and obtain victory.
Therefore we can read the following:
HEBREWS 4:14-16
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need
So, there is a solution to overcoming our weaknesses, namely Jesus Christ and therefore the following from the Word can be gloriously used as the foundation, when satan fires his burning arrows at us:
ROMANS 8:25-27
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Not only do we know this for certain, that there is a solution for our weaknesses, but we also know the path that we must walk to reach the final destination, is the most prefect path to take:
ROM 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
In other words, even though it may look like that I am making no progress in overcoming these weaknesses and or problems; I must never give up fighting against them. Because you see:
EPH 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Then my great hero Paul tells us what we must do so that we do not become a victim of the evil powers:
EPH 6:13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand..
Then he goes further by explaining to us, what this armour looks like that we can successfully use against the evil powers of satan that we can take for ourselves from God’s Word:
EPHESIANS 6:14-18
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
If I, for example, am a tempestuous person, satan will try to exploit it.
The enemy, like that which I have written about in another devotional from the Word, cannot read our thoughts but through thousands of years studying/observing of humanity behind their backs, he has gathered great knowledge of humanity and he very quickly pics up your and my weaknesses and he therefore shoots flaming arrows continuously at our weak points and he naturally knows immediately exactly through our actions and body language, if and when he has hit us again.
So when he shoots a flaming arrow to ignite my temper and I allow that my temper to get the better of me, he shouts, so I believe, something like: “Pot shot!”
Do you remember what the Word says about what we should do so that he cannot shout something like “Pot shot”?
EPH 6:13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
EPH 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
So remember today and always to try and live your life in such a way that our Lord does not have to hear how satan rejoices in saying “Pot shot!”.
Greetings,
Sakkie