Recognize The Pattern

John 10:10 “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” ~CSB

This past Sunday, the Lord allowed a great Word through me. He seeded this message in my heart about a month prior to me preaching it. I thanked God before the sermon because He had given me the ‘go ahead’ to sing again as part of the sermon. It is my prayer that the message was seeded and nurtured in those who received it. It turned out to be a blessing in so many ways.

But now, let me show you a dark pattern that I have noticed in my Christian walk. I got home and my wife and I were discussing service as we always do. She told me she was proud of me and the work that God is doing in me.  I left home to run an errand and when I returned, I noticed our puppy, ‘Cooper’, locked in his caged area. I asked, “What did he do? Is he in trouble?” “My wife responded, yeah, you know how he is.” She gave me a hug and told me to go to social media and read what she posted about me and how service was. Well, I did, and it was a beautiful post. I hugged her and thanked her for such a beautiful message. Then I noticed her face change.  It went to concern and somewhat apologetic. 

When I asked what was wrong, she gave me the case to my ‘AirPods’. It was all chewed up. I looked up at her and she said, “Cooper got to it.” I opened the case and noticed that the Airpods were missing. She continued, “I thought the case was the only thing he got, but…” Then she handed me, two chewed up ear ‘Airpods’.  First of all, she knew how much I ‘loved’ my ear pods. And for a brief second, I was ‘HOT’!

But then, I realized the pattern. Lately, whenever my wife and I are victorious in ministry, service or blessing families in Real Estate, a darkness attempts to come into our home to take away, steal, kill and destroy what we have just experienced as servants of the Lord. And if we are not careful with the victory we have in Jesus’ name, that darkness could make us give that success to the enemy, just like Adam and Eve did in the garden.

Well, Yolanda and I are not Adam and Eve. You, are also not going to give away any blessing to the darkness that may come immediately after God’s blessing to you. Recognize the pattern of the enemy as he comes to steal, kill, and destroy what God is doing for us in our lives. Last weekend, I changed my perspective. I understood that I didn’t love those ‘AirPods’, I love the Lord! And with that perspective, I did not give up our success in the victory God blessed us with!

Jesus said he came so that we may have life and have it in abundance. The devil knows this. This is why every time we receive a gift from above, the devil is right there, asking us, “You don’t really want that do you? Let me have it.” And under the stress, anger, conflict, and confusion that accompanies the enemy, we give it to him. Not anymore! The purpose of this devotion is to make you aware of this 'pattern' so that we can prepare ourselves to stay in God’s perspective and hold on to the gifts birthed from His promises to us.

Let us stay focused on God’s victories in our lives as steppingstones to bigger and better things. Don’t let the enemy steal our steps; kill our focus or destroy Christ’s cause in our hearts. I pray that God’s will in our lives always conquer the devil’s attempts. And may His Son’s mission for our abundance remain the victory we receive. May the Lord bless and keep you under his healing power and direction in Jesus’ name,

​Amen

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