21/01/2015 - AFTER SUCCESS COMES THE FEAR

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And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.  2 Chronicles 14.6

It is incredible how Christians do not watch against the traps of the enemy. Normally, a person who approaches the Gospel is filled with problems, and in some cases, is completely defeated. However, when he is converted, his life is changed. As time goes by, prosperity comes, but if the person does not watch and pray, he will fall into the temptation of thinking that he does not always need to be in church, or read the Bible, or pray like in the beginning of his walk with Christ.

The devil is very worried with those who become a threat to him. In the beginning of Asa’s reign, the king let himself be used by faith, and thus, his kingdom was blessed. The people of Judah had ten years of peace. The king, who had proved of God’s goodness, ordered that the Most High’s message would be spread throughout all the country and that the objects of idolatry and witchcraft would be taken away. The truth is that revival always brings peace and prosperity.

Faith makes us love God in first place and also our neighbors as ourselves. It makes us to be interested in the Kingdom of Heaven, and therefore, as we already know, the devil starts attacking us in a different way as he did before. His effort is to lead us away from the divine grace, trying to make us become religious people. The religious practices, created by men, are as harmful as the acts that are made in witchcraft.

While king Asa walked in the guidance of the Spirit of God, he saw prosperity spread in his country to all people. They were marvelous days, but even seeing all those things, instead of giving praise to the Lord, he decided to do something that, one day, would be a breach for evil to enter. The devil changed the plans to try to take the people away from the divine presence. But the king did not notice it and did not pray for the Most High to reveal if what he felt came from Him or from the devil.

Whoever walks by faith sees his battles diminishing, for the enemy knows that he cannot face those who are guided by the Lord of Hosts of Israel. After some time, it seems like the devil does not care about us any longer, but this is a mistake. Satan never stops tempting us. In fact, what changes are his plans. The things that come subtly are as dangerous as an incurable disease or a mortal attack from Hell.

Sometimes, the enemy uses the plan of pride, of prostitution, or also, as we are seeing in this study, of fear. Thus, the soul of God’s hero who is not watchful starts having many dangerous attacks against his faith. The evil one changes his plans, but not his purposes. After all, when we least expect, we find ourselves with an uncommon aggression like Asa had attempted against the Ethiopian Zerah.

The Ethiopian marched against Asa with 1 million soldiers and 300 chariots. There were almost two Ethiopian soldiers for every Judean. Humanly speaking, they had no chance. However, the king of Judah knew the Lord and cried out for help, and that enemy was defeated. If you have also let yourself be led by conceit, by fear, or any other work from Hell, cry out to God, and He will listen to you.

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares