Today’s reflection comes from Emi Habel. Emi will be joining us this summer as the ministry head at Girl’s Camp.
Today’s Reading: John 10:1-21
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John 10:10
Reflect:
I’m not one to give much thought to Satan. Jesus came to destroy the enemy, and I’m happy living knowing this. But Jesus tells us that while we are still living on earth, we “will have trouble”; we will experience fear, pain, hurt, grief, and hopelessness (John 16:33). The good news is, though, that He also tells us He has “overcome the world” and that we can have peace in Him!
The enemy doesn’t break into our home to steal our laptop or our expensive Fender guitar… so how does he actually go about stealing from us?
The enemy tries to steal our joy & our peace.
Especially in this time of self-isolation/quarantine, it’s so easy to lose our joy. We can’t do the things that used to bring us joy anymore (hang out with our friends, going out for coffee, or going to the gym). Our peace is robbed from us every time we open our phones or turn on the TV and see new death rates caused by COVID19.
But God promises us unexplainable peace & joy.
Jesus says that He gives us peace “not like the world gives”, but as He gives (John 14:27). We can have His peace and His joy even without the things that would usually bring us peace, joy, and hope.
The enemy tries to kill our spirit & hope.
You know the saying, “crushed in spirit”? It’s a real thing. In this time of isolation and fear, Satan will try to kill/crush our spirit by telling us there is no hope.
But God promises us a life abundant with hope.
He fills us with hope in times of darkness, renews our strength and helps us not to focus on “the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen” (Isaiah 40:31 + 1 Corinthians 4:18).
The enemy tries to destroy our progress & recovery.
For many people, myself included, this time brings us back to a dark moment in our lives that we worked very hard to get past. Isolation, fear, and panic are the worse things for many people struggling with mental health, addictions, and more. Satan will try to destroy our progress and our recovery.
But God reminds us He has won the victory.
In God there is victory, recovery, resources, and hope (John 16:33 + Romans 8:37-39 + 1 Corinthians 10:13). Remember to reach out to your family of believers when you need help!
Jesus promises us a “rich”, “satisfying”, and “abundant life” (John 10:10):
- Rich in PEACE
- Satisfying in JOY
- Abundant in HOPE
How much glory would it bring God, if we as Christians still showed the world that we have joy, peace, and hope even amidst this crisis?
Pray and ask God to fill you with peace, joy, and hope! Jesus says “you can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father” (John 14:13).
Your friend,
Emi.
Listen: “My Testimony” by Elevation Worship
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