Satan’s Lie:
God doesn’t love you or care about you! Just look what He’s letting you go
through!
Counter Action: BELIEVE that, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up
for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans
8:32)
You know.
I could stop right here because if that verse doesn’t tell you how much God loves
you, I don’t know what will. Many of us may die for someone.
I know I would die for my children. But, I can tell you right now, I’m not
going to let my child die in your place. NO WAY, NO HOW! And neither would you.
Now, I don’t understand the trinity, but by faith I believe, and if Jesus is the Son and God has a greater capacity to love than we do, then put yourself
in His place for just a brief second. (No,
I mean really…close your eyes and picture it.) Imagine your child being
mocked, beaten, spat upon, and killed by crucifixion. So, how did He feel
sending His Son to die? The anguish is greater than you can even imagine. But,
not only that, you know how guilty you feel when you do something wrong? Then
imagine how the sinless Lamb of God felt when all the sins of all the world;
past, present, and future were placed on Him. There is no way that any one of
us could bear that kind of weight. We would go insane from the guilt and shame.
So, if He did all that, there is nothing He wouldn’t do for YOU. NOTHING! God
loves YOU…beyond your comprehension! I’m gonna stop right now and shout,
“GLORY”! *also running around the room shouting like a crazy woman* WOOOOOOOOO!
Okay, now where were we…oh, yes…REPEAT God’s Word to satan. TELL satan, “YOU are the one who does not love or care about me. As a matter of fact you hate and despise me. You wish me to do the very thing that grieves God’s heart; doubt His love, for your hatred of Him is even greater. Your plan to rule over God came crashing to the ground and your followers with you and then Calvary put the nail in your coffin. You are angry because you know your fate and in the end…WE WIN!! So, satan, get behind me, your lies are no match for the love of my God!
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When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? (Psalm 8:3-4) In my mind’s eye, I imagine David walking late at night while everything was still and quiet and the only sound he could hear was that of the wind blowing through the trees. He was probably talking with God and thanking Him for sustaining him yet another day as he ran for his life from King Saul. The moon was full that night and it was so big it seemed like he could reach out and touch it and its light flooded across the plains and hillside. I can imagine in that moment David felt so small and insignificant. Even David could not understand why God would be concerned with the affairs of mankind. A God who could fling the sun, moon, and the stars across the sky, create the ground he walked upon, and breathe life into every living thing considered him an object of affection and he was amazed.
It is noteworthy, that David did not once get angry with or blame God for the situation he was in. He questioned, but he did not blame. Somehow, he knew that in this life troubles and trials would come. He also seemed to know that God loved Him and would not intentionally do him any harm. He knew that God would keep him safe, and would one day make him a king, but it was not yet God’s time. So, he put his destiny in his Lord’s hands and rested in Him.
I wish I could say that I have never questioned God’s love and even more so I wish with all my heart and soul that I had never been angry with Him. The memory of that act is so painful every time it crosses my mind. God is my Father. His daughter thought He had let her down. Oh, how that must have grieved His heart.
After I came back to God, and before I even knew what a baby dedication service was, I got down on my knees in my tiny kitchen and gave my children to the Lord. I said, “Lord, use them for your purpose and help me to raise them with Your counsel and guidance.”
I was raising my children alone. Their father had moved to another state and left me with all the bills. He saw the children a few times a year and talked to them on the phone, maybe a little more than that. I kept my children in church and did the best I could to raise them right. I tried to give them what I didn’t have as a child and as a third shift worker, I got little sleep trying to work a full-time and, sometimes, part-time job. I was constantly running from ball field to ball field…football, soccer, baseball and then the drive-thru, home to do school work, baths, to grandma’s and then I would go to work (the job that actually paid)…and then there were also PTA meetings, field trips, music lessons, dance class, and AWANA.
I always felt like I was juggling too many balls in the air and that at any moment I could miscalculate and drop them all. I was so exhausted at times. I wanted the world to stop, let me get off for just a little while to rest, and then jump back on. There seemed to be no end in sight to all the activity and even though it was hard, I don’t regret one minute of time and effort I put into my children, but if I had it to do over I would have forfeited all that other “stuff” and spent that time laughing, talking, running, playing hide and seek, jumping on the bed, exploring the woods, and playing games with my children.
I had never told my children that I left their dad because he had found someone else and I never told them about the mental anguish he had put me through for several years or that it became even worse when I was pregnant with my daughter. However, my son does remember some of it because there were many times he would sit beside me, hold my hand, and say, “Mama, it’s going to be alright.” What a treasure he was and still is.
I never spoke ill of my children’s father because I wanted them to have a relationship with him and honor him because God has promised a long life to those who do so. (Eph. 6:1-3)
On July 22, 2003, my daughter, who was almost 15 at the time, left for what I thought to be a two week vacation with her dad, but I received a phone call from him about an hour after they left saying that Lindsay would not be coming back here to live with me…ever. He had been busy in the background, trying to get his hooks into my children with promises that he never kept and apparently they had been told to keep it quiet. He despised paying child support and did whatever it took to put an end to it.
In the months to follow, I was a basket case. All I did was cry. I went through soooo many emotions…from shock, to anger, to anguish, to depression. I missed my daughter desperately and grieved for her as if she had died. I think the biggest emotion I felt was that of betrayal. How on earth did the parent who was there for everything, did not leave her, and sacrificed so much get rejected by a daughter that I loved dearly? To this day, every time that I talk about, write about, or think about it I still get very emotional. Her absence at holidays and birthdays is still hard. It still breaks my heart that I missed her getting her driver’s license, her first date, her graduation, and her wedding. I was not invited. Communication had been cut off for years. We’ve been talking for a few months now, and I’ve gone to see her a few times, but the relationship is strained. I long for the closeness that we once had. I still miss her so much.
After I got past the shock of her leaving I got angry. How could she do this to me? Why did she do this? I felt like she had slapped me in my face for being the parent who loved her the most. Worst of all, I got mad at God. “God, did I not dedicate my children to you? Did I not train them in the way they should go? Lord, why did you allow my child to be taken away and be raised by people who could care less about You? I thought you loved me. Why have You allowed me to be hurt so badly?
I stopped praying and reading my Bible and my church attendance dropped drastically, but the Lord was patient with me. Even though the Spirit was grieved because of my misguided and immature thoughts, He did not let me go without a fight. Here and there I would have a memory flash across my mind of a time that God had been there for me. And with each memory came a tug at my heart. God was pulling me with cords of love, but you know that satan had to get into the mix. His lies tormented me…“God doesn’t love you. He doesn’t care about what you’re going through. He should not have let this happen. He knew what this would do to you. You tried to raise your children right, now look at your reward.”
I wrestled for several months with the lies, but in the end God’s love won out. He showed me all the many times that His hand had been upon me and my children and He caused me to come to my senses and remember His character as a loving Father, His provision in lean times, His comfort during sorrow, and His blessings on top of blessings, but most of all the high price that had been paid for my salvation. Satan’s lies were no match for God’s love and concern…the Creator being mindful of His creation…the Father loving His daughter.
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. ~ Matthew 10:29-31
We are of great value to God and He knows everything about us and loves us anyway. This must be remembered daily or satan will cause us to question God when life doesn’t turn out as we expected. Lord, help us to be like David. He may have questioned Your plan, and at times thought You were far away, but he never doubted Your love. When we place our lives in Your hand we can be assured that You will do what’s best for us and sometimes that means letting us go through troubles and trials to teach us to lean on You for strength and guidance and to mold us into the image of Jesus Christ! God, help us to remember that You loved us so much that You gave up the most precious of all gifts, Your own Son, so that we might have life.
So, satan, let it be known, starting today…”I AM LOVED”
beyond measure! Hallelujah!
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