The Word is a weapon

"Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Matthew 4:10 ESV

As I rounded a familiar corner on the farm road where I was running early yesterday morning, I spotted two large unchained dogs in the distance. "Oh great," I thought to myself fearfully as my mind replayed the harrowing altercation I had had with a couple of dogs many years before that had precipitated my decision to carry a weapon and to avoid any routes where a dog might not be restrained. "I really don't want to deal with this today,” I said out loud before turning around to steer clear of them. And that’s when I heard the Holy Spirit say, "This is the route I told you to run. It’s time to ‘deal’ with this fear and get over it once and for all. You’ve been holding on to it for too long.” Knowing just how right the Spirit was, I mustered the courage to turn around again to face the cause of my fear. And while I’d like to say that passing the canines was uneventful, it wasn’t at all. I had to repeatedly scream, “Go home!” and then fire two warning shots before they finally tucked their tails and ran away. 

And you know, there are many things going on in our world right now that could certainly cause us to be fearful. Whatever the cause of the fear though, one thing is certain... it is deadly to our spiritual walk because it will immobilize us. That’s why the Lord gave us the Word to fight fear. In fact, the Lord gave us the the Word to fight every spiritual battle we might find ourselves in. And we use this spiritual weapon by following the example of Jesus who said to his enemy, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written..." and then countered the enemy's attack with Truth. The exact same thing you and I must do if we are to be overcomers. 

So if you find yourself fearful today, say out loud, "'Be gone Satan! For it is written "'In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid ..'" And then use the weapon of the Word to fight any other battle you find yourself up against. I guarantee doing so will change your life. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the Word that gives us everything we need to fight every spiritual battle we will

face in this life. Give us a hunger to take it in Lord that we might be ready when the tempter comes that we would not give in to temptation or be immobilized by fear or anxiety. Cause us to remember that You are always with us. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!

Fear not - Aaron Shust