Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. —Ephesians 1:3
I have noticed that in some ways Satan is like an illusionist. He distracts our attention with one hand while he does something else with the other. One of his common tricks today is to create the illusion that we must wait for things that we already have, things like spiritual blessings.
Paul told the Ephesians (and you and me) that we have been given every spiritual blessing. So what are spiritual blessings? They come in the form of gifts and fruits. The gifts of the Spirit enable us to proclaim God’s truth to the lost, and the fruits of the Spirit are evidence and confidence of the change within us and give us strength and comfort as we use our gifts for God’s glory. So what are we waiting for? If we already have all we need in Christ, then we can step out in the faith He has given us and share His love with others, having the fruits of the Spirit manifested in us while we do. Satan, however, constantly whispers, “You’re not ready”; “Look over here at this thing you did the other day”; or “Look at that other person. God can use him, but not you.” These are merely distractions from already given blessings. That is not to say you cannot be disqualified from certain ministries by your actions, but that is not what I am talking about here. I am talking about Satan trying to convince you that you cannot be used at all—ever!
It is always so refreshing to be around new Christians. Many times they act as though they have found something so wonderful they are compelled to talk about it no matter what. They act like knowing Jesus has changed everything. Remember those days? Satan, however, has created the illusion that the zeal of a new saint is a passing thing we grow out of. He tries to convince you that you have to wait for the next wave of feelings to wash over you in order to get fired up again. But that is not true. You have every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. You have what you need to do His will, and there is no reason to wait to accomplish it. All you need, you have in Jesus! Don’t be distracted by Satan, the deluded illusionist.
Excerpt from “Body Builders” now available on Amazon.
