HOW TO WALK THROUGH YOUR OPEN DOOR - Part III
This devotional series highlights
FOUR ADVERSARIES you will certainly confront while endeavoring to walk through
your open door – and it provides
practical strategies for overcoming such spiritual obstacles. The Apostle Paul declares, “For a great door
and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” (I
Corinthians 16:9) We learned previously
that Adversary number one is
SITUATIONAL DOUBT, a satanic tactic designed to induce uncertainty and fear
whenever believers encounter unfamiliar and unanticipated circumstances.
Our spiritual focus today will be on
a satanic strategy that I call GIFT-BASED PRIDE. As Adversary
Number two, it typically shows up in the lives of more settled
believers, to delay or deny access to higher degrees of anointing and Kingdom
service.
My natural and spiritual father,
Bishop Joseph Edison Bass, Sr., often posed this question: “What do you have
that you didn’t receive?” It was a
rhetorical and thought-provoking question based upon the Apostle James’
assertion that GOD is the giver of every “good gift and every perfect gift.” Dad’s question was also rooted in St. Paul’s
admonitions against pride, aimed at the Church of Corinth. (I Corinthians 4:7) Implicitly, my father was suggesting that
there is never any legitimate reason for one to ‘trip’ and become self-exalted due to earthly achievements, material
possessions, or spiritual enablements. After all, every single thing (both in the
natural and spiritual realms) originates with OUR MAKER. Therefore, any sense of entitlement,
self-satisfaction, or arrogance that we display whenever God ‘chooses’ to
personally endow us would be something like a Porsche ‘boasting’ because it
turned out to be the finest or fastest car on the block! If it were
ever appropriate to do boasting of this sort, all ‘bragging rights’ would be
retained by either the manufacturerS
or ownerS, and not by the
end-product of their creativity and labor. In my Dad’s terms, “What does the Porsche
HAVE…that it did not RECEIVE?” Get my
point?
By the way, since “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the
world and they that dwell therein,” ALL
of us belong to ALMIGHTY GOD, THE DIVINE MANUFACTURER, along with
anything that we seem to possess during our sojourn on earth. (Psalm 24:1) Think deeply about this…and you will never
ever trip over your own ego again!
It is important to note that gift-based pride is a satanic device
that most often emerges when we could not be easily distracted or destroyed by
other kinds of temptation. When we think
about it in that way, it means that we had actually won out over Satan…so far. How so?
This kind of attack proves that Satan had already attempted and failed
with other methods, and our ability to overcome them resulted (to his utter
dismay) in a clear manifestation of divine favor and blessing. So…since Satan could not thwart our walk with
God via his typical array of temptations, he launches a rather brilliant ambush.
Since he is unable to defeat us in any
other way, Satan appears at the moment of our greatest blessing/anointing/advancing
and attempts to ‘blow up our ego’ and ‘distort our self-image.’ This stands in direct contradiction to the
customary worship and exaltation of Our Creator since GOD is the giver of “every
good and perfect gift”…not us. (James 1:17) Trippin’
believers continually boast on their personal capacities and
accomplishments, having developed spiritual
amnesia and totally forgotten that ALL of what we are (or shall be)
originates with GOD. Obviously, this
out-of-bounds attitude and mindset has no place in the lives of true believers! In fact, we are duly warned that “pride goes
before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
Nevertheless, there is a way out of
this predicament since we are armed with God-ordained wisdom and timely exits from
satanic snares. The Word affirms the
fact that “there has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to
bear it.” (I Corinthians 10:13)
There are at least three effective
strategies for avoiding gift-based pride.
First of all, as God commands, “HUMBLE
YOURSELVES in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:10) Secondly, because God resists proud people and
endows humble people with His grace, James instructs believers to “SUBMIT
YOURSELVES therefore to GOD.” Bowing
before Him regularly – in prayer, in worship, in Word – motivates our flesh and
our spirit to keep God seated on the throne, not ourselves. Finally, believers are admonished to “resist the devil, and he will flee from
you.” (James 4:6-7) In other words, whenever
we are tempted to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, we must
discipline and direct our minds toward Christ-centered thoughts, which immediately
exorcises all ‘stinkin’-thinkin’!
(Romans 12:3 – Philippians 4:8)
Finally, Meditating purposefully, proactively, positively and
prayerfully on the things of God
keeps us from becoming too self-absorbed, that is, it prevents us from becoming
overly focused on our failures or swept away by our successes. (Joshua 1:8 – Psalm
119) Almighty God summons us believers
to balance and moderation in every dimension of our lives. (Philippians 4:5) Point To Ponder: ‘WHO are you contemplating
more so today…GOD or yourself?’ If we would walk soon through our wide open doorS, we must allow Christ an intimate level of access that
will transform our thinking and revolutionize our doing. (II
Corinthians 5:17 – Psalm 1:2) Both our attitudes and actions are must be fully subject to the Lordship of Christ. In closing, prayerfully consider this: “And
be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
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