Surviving Attacks

Once you decide to be obedient, you can rest assured that you will be under some major attacks. You have now made the devil angry & he wants nothing more than to take you down. Always remember Luke 10:19, "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the powers of the the enemy; nothing will harm you." Nothing can harm us friends...nothing. But I'll testify to you first hand that when you're in the middle of those attacks you sure don't feel so invincible!

My last post was on January 25 and it was titled "The Blessing of Obedience". I must have really twisted the devils horns when I wrote that because that very same day began an attacked so fierce it left my head spinning!
The morning of the 25th, I wrote my post, then went about my day. That afternoon I got a phone call from the mechanic that my husband's truck was done. 385+ dollars. I'd say I was angry at having to pay so much money for an old truck, but annoyed would better describe it. That same night my van, which had been running fine, decided not to start. My earlier annoyance had turned to intense aggravation, but I knew that I was under attack. The car would not start, hence would not move, so a tow truck trip was in order. My husband worked it out so that my neighbor would fix it right in front of the house. Still just frustrated, I was at least thankful that he could fix it. After an hour outside, my neighbor informs me that it is indeed my fuel pump, which will cost 170.00 plus 30.00 for him to put in. Sickened to my stomach, I knew I had no choice but to get it fixed, as I need my van, so I said "Fine, please fix it" and I sat down to figure out where all this money was coming from.
To understand why the devil chose this particular attack, I want to share some information.
For as long as I can remember, I've had financial problems. I was never taught to be a good steward of my money, as I mimicked my father who did not know the meaning of the term. As part of my obsessive compulsive behavior I became a shop-a-holic. I married a fellow shop-a-holic and we headed for the financial pits together. Being convicted of our poor stewardship, we sought to correct it by fixing our financial mistakes. Once we got on the right track, the Lord blessed my husband with a wonderful job(he spent 3 years "job hopping") and we started to pay our way out of financial distress. We've really gone through some frustrating times, as we tithe faithfully off of our net and we believed that this ensured us protection against financial attack. It didn't. Though God continued to provide for our needs, He wanted us to be better stewards of our money, so we had to budget better and start to pay off old debt. After feeling this sense of freedom regarding my addiction to food, I wanted to start correcting other areas of my life. Finances were next in line. I had JUST figured out our new budget and was quite excited, when just a few days later the car problems began. The devil was weaving a web and I was about to fly right into it.
My neighbor began fixing my van Saturday morning. He spent many hours out in the cold. Feeling that 30.00 just wasn't enough for his time, I gave him 10.00 more, for a total of 40.00. After many hours working on my van, he finally gave me the good news that it was done. He told me he had to empty my gas tank (which was half full) and that he needed more money for gas. I told him that I would go get the gas myself, as I had to go pick my daughter up (she just returned from winter camp & was anxious to get home). He told me that he wanted to test drive it first, to be sure it was running right before he returned it to me. That seemed logical to me, so I gave him my last 20.00 and off he went. He did not return until 1hour 40 minutes later. My car now had a flat tire and was making a terrible noise. There were a great many details of the story that I could add, but the bottom line was that apparently I was unaware of the fact that my neighbor was a drug addict and now, not only was I out 230.00 (he never put gas in the car) and 1/2 tank of gas (worth 20.00), I still had a broken down car! Well, my aggravation now became anger and I felt consumed by it. The devil was winning. Funny thing was that I did not stay angry with my neighbor. I understood that he was a drug addict and I actually began to pray for him, but I was angry at my situation and I had a hard time containing that anger.
The next day, I had my car taken to the same auto repair shop I'd just given 385+ to for my husband's truck. I did like them, and were it not for the fact that I was trying to save money, I would have brought my van there to begin with. Funny, it wound up there in the long run. It took 3 days to finish my van. Three agonizing days of me borrowing a vehicle to take my daughter to & from school. Finally, it was done. Apparently my neighbor had done something & locked up my antilock brake system, and thus, he dragged my tires along during his great spree with my car. He messed it up so bad that the whole brake system needed to be replaced, as well as my tires. So, 180.00 for the tires and 390.00 for the van to be fixed brought me to a grand total of 1195.00 in less than a week. I was stuck in the web and the "spider" was on his way to devour me.
I could have chosen to stay angry , but at that point, I recognized that I was just entangling myself worse. I knew that this was the devil's work, but I also knew that God had allowed it. Perhaps it was a test to see if I'd eat my way to comfort. Perhaps it was the devil taunting God by saying, "mess with her finances & see if she still praises You". Perhaps it was God protecting me & my children from a possible fatal accident. I cannot pretend to know "why" this happened. However, I am confident in what Paul says in Romans 8:28-31
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" If God is for us, who can be against us? Who, I ask? NO-ONE!!! Paul went on to say, in verse 38-39, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. "
Degarmo & Key sing a great song called "If God is For us". Very empowering, if you get the chance to listen to it, by all means, do!
Here are the words:
If you're weary, don't lose hope in fighting the good fight
Just remember, God is with you through the darkest night
In the heat of battle keep your head up high
God is marching with us. He's always at our side

If God is for us, who can be against us ?
No power on earth can take his love away
If God is for us, who can be against us ?
We can live in victory today

When you worry, when you feel like the world is caving in
He is stronger than our weakness, faithful to the end
Like the Master taught us, there's life beyond the cross
Even though we're weary, our battle won't be lost

If God is for us, who can be against us ?
No power on earth can take his love away
If God is for us, who can be against us ?
We can live in victory today

Amen! So I decided to walk in that victory, not to stay angry, and to accept that God did allow this, and I will be better for it. The bottom line is that I do trust God, and I know that my life could not be in better hands. It is with that attitude that I walk today, with my head held high. I've been freed from the web that was woven around me, and not only was I able to fly away, but I was able to fly higher than I had before I was caught in the web! During the attack, when I normally would have consumed mass amounts of food to comfort myself, I allowed Jesus to be my comforter. Today, I am a size smaller than I was 4 days ago, and God receives ALL the glory for that! THAT is a victory in the midst of trials, and that is exactly what Jesus promises us in His Word.

If you're facing a trial or temptation, or you are in the middle of an attack that seems to have no end, remember, trust in Him and let Him be your comforter. There is no greater joy than to know that He loves you and that He is with you.

Walk in victory today!