This morning I spent time with the Lord in 1 John chapter 1. I thought about what it means to be a Christian because this chapter used to confuse me as a child.  I would look at “sin” and “darkness” and think – well I’m not perfect so does that mean I’m not really saved?

It’s just like the enemy to try to make us believe we aren’t in the family of God.  The devil cannot do anything about your position in God’s family, but if he can get you to swirl in self pity and doubt then he can keep you from accomplishing God’s plan for your life. 

Today, I want to talk to you about not allowing the devil to steal your confidence in the vision God has placed in your heart. 

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

1 John 5:14-15 KJV

Last post we talked about having a vision for 2022.

I can see clearly…Goals & Vision for 2022

As you take the steps to create, plan and put action to your vision, the devil’s primary goal is to STOP you from accomplishing what God wants you to do. 

The good news is that as we wait upon the Lord our strength changes.  This leaves us skipping over mountain tops with our joy that overcomes adversity. 

Attack 1: Self Doubt

This is what I was talking about earlier. The devil will try to stop you with reason and self doubt. There are a lot of ways that the devil can try to create self doubt.

Unworthiness

The first might be through feelings of unworthiness.  We are FAR more hung up on our sins than Jesus is.  In fact this is what 1 John says. 

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2:1-2 KJ21

Jesus has handled sin.  If you have believed in your heart and confesses with your mouth that JESUS IS LORD, then you have accepted Jesus’s payment of your sins. 

Now the devil doesn’t want you to know that.  In fact, his biggest tool against you accomplishing what God wants you to do is to remind you of your sins. 

I have a pastor who tells a story of getting to the door of a hospital room where he was going to pray for a dying man.  Right when he got there he started remembering all the things that he did wrong. Thankfully, he knew who he was in Christ and turned around and said, “God I’m guilty of all of it, but it’s none of the devil’s business.  I’m going in here to pray for this man and when I get out we will settle this sin.” He walked in, prayed for the man and he lived!

We are the ones hung up on our sins not God. 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 KJ21

Unqualified

Next he might hit you with feelings of not being qualified.  Listen you might not be qualified or have the knowledge to do something, but James says…

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.

James 1:5 KJ21

On top of that, when you go where God wants you to be, the anointing of God comes alongside you. 

Attack 2: Confusion

The devil is the author of confusion.  He will often try to get you to reason your way out of a situation.  

Listen it’s important to think critically about things, but when God is telling you to do something, you need to do it. Many times, we end up conferring with others around us for their opinions.  The only thing that does is leave us with more questions than answers. 

Or worse yet, the people around us give us advice that contradicts what God is telling us to do. The Lord doesn’t always do things in the “proper” way to say the least. 

That’s why it’s so important to know who to listen to.  

Check out my blog post Safety? In the multitude of Counselors because it turns out that there really is only one safe guide and his name is JESUS.  

The psalmist says “thy word is my counselor..” 

Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.

Psalm 119:24 KJ21

Attack 3: Pride

But He giveth more grace; therefore He saith, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

James 4:6-7 KJ21

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Pride is a spiritual attack that the devil often tries to use.  It’s what got him kicked out of the garden of eden.  It’s what he used to get Adam and Eve kicked out of the garden of Eden, and it is the one tool he will use to get you kicked out of grace with God.  

The devil knows that pride goes before a fall.  

I had a really skewed view of what pride really was.  I didn’t quite understand all that was included in that word “pride”. 

Check out my study on what is pride?.

I know it will help shed some light on things that we don’t often think about when it comes to pride. 

Resist the devil – he WILL flee

The good news is that when we submit ourselves to God (HIS WILL) we have the anointing to resist the devil and he WILL flee (James 4:7). This takes first being submitted to God though.  That means that we have to be willing and obedient to the calling God has on our lives.

And so we come full circle.  It’s so important as the new year comes that we SEEK GOD. 

I can see clearly…vision for 2022. 

It’s our responsibility to get in God’s face and seek Him for the vision He has.