Control Issues

Tonight, at church, yes church, the devil tried to cause me to fall back into the old me.  Stupid devil.  Doesn't he realize that he has been defeated?  Kicked back to hell where he belongs?  Has no authority over me?  Guess not.

I know that God has done such a work in me that it still amazes me that He loves me enough to keep working in me, with me.  That old me who felt the need to control everything because of the chaos in my life has been set free.  Praise God!!  But, that stupid old devil tries to cause me to go back there.  Tonight was a perfect example.

Tim and some of the other men of our church are going on their yearly retreat, Honor Bound, this Friday.  Our Pastor has made an appointment for the men to tour the Harley Davidson factory in York, Pa at 10 am.  They are having to leave the church at 6am.  6 AM...most of you know that I am NOT a morning person.  I am just rolling over for my second window of sleep at 6 am.  But, I have to make sure that Tim is at the Sheetz in Clarks Summit at 6:15am.  That is way early.  Too early for me.  So what do I do?  I go to Pastor Jim and say, "I have a stupid question.  Why are you guys leaving so early Friday morning when it only takes 2 hours to get to York?"  Yep, I did it.  I fell back into my controlling self.  Never mind that I am not even going so what does it matter what time they leave?  It's the men's time together and to have a vacation away from the wives and children.  Who am I to tell them when to leave?  But I tried. 

Lord forgive me for falling for the devil's tricks again.  I need to learn to keep my mouth shut and trust other people to do what is best.  They aren't stupid and I am not the only one who knows how to do things.  Help me Lord to trust You to help me defeat the devil and his stupid tricks. 

The thing is, that stupid devil will never give up trying to drag us back into the old ways.  He doesn't want us out of bondage.  He knows his time is short and he is trying everything in his arsenal to cause us to fall away and revert back to the old us.  Don't let him.  The Word says that "No weapon formed against you shall prosper."  So that means that nothing that the devil tries will work as long as you trust fully and rely on God Almighty. 

In Corinthians it tells us that we are "a new creation.  That the old has passed away and ALL things have become new."  Thank God that I am not who I was and I don't have to believe a word that comes out of the devil's mouth because he is a liar.  The Father of Lies is what the Word calls him.  He couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it.  Place guards all around your mind, heart, and spirit that will protect you from his wiles.  He is crafty.  He will use your past to affect your future if you let him.  Stand firm on the Solid Rock.  Dwell in the covering of the Almighty.  Let God fight the battles for you and you will never lose.