THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 8:31-33
“He rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!'” (Mark 8:33)
God has a purpose for our lives.
He gives us everything we need to fulfill that purpose.
Satan wants to thwart your purpose any way he can.
He will use whatever – even people close to you – to hold you back.
Peter was not intentionally speaking for Satan.
But he was not discerning his thoughts, to see whether they were good.
Satan constantly whispers half truths and feel rights into our minds.
And we give voice to them, use them as excuses or challenges or accusations.
Jesus fights this battle Himself, resisting Satan’s whispers in His own mind.
When someone He loves becomes a voice of deception, He has to silence it.
I am hesitant to say these exact words to someone, its a hard pill to swallow.
But we do need to realize it, that Satan does speak through others… and through us.
We need to be on guard, discerning the spirits, taking our thoughts captive to Christ.
This is not easy, because the Deceiver is a master at disguise.
But as long as we do NOT resist his lies, we are vulnerable to them.
Right now my head is so full of contrary thoughts, I can’t figure them out.
But I need to take them all to Jesus, and let Him help me process them.
And again and again say in my spirit, if not with my mouth…
“Get behind me, Satan!’ You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Mark 8:33)
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, this passage is very appropriate for me right now. I’m wrestling many conflicting, difficult thoughts, I need help to separate the truth from the lie.