The End of the Story

Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. Isaiah 41:11

Scripture is full of examples when God reveals to us the end of the stories. Once He has declared it, we can rest in its reality. Just as surely as He has written down a victorious ending for his children, He has also recorded the defeat of those who oppose us ~ especially the enemy of our soul.

Satan loves to mock us when the circumstances of our life overwhelm us. A friend of mine shared with me a list of arrows Satan uses to wound and injure us. Allow me to share the arrows and their definitions:

Doubt ~ Makes you question God's Word and His goodnessDiscouragement ~ Makes you look at your problems rather than at GodDiversion ~ Makes the wrong things seem attractive so that you will want them more than the right things
Defeat ~ Makes you feel like a failure so that you don't even tryDelay ~ Makes you put off doing something so that it never gets done

I must admit that doubt, discouragement, and defeat are the arrows he has been attacking me with recently. But God has given me some darts and a shield of my own to use against his tactics. I can now remind him of his own demise.

When it comes to people, this verse shows me the outcome of their attacks. If they walk in emptiness and blindness they may unknowingly be on the attack against me. Even Jesus had many such individuals in His life when He walked on this earth. So did many of the people we read about in Scripture. God will faithfully carry out the "end of the story" for their words and actions. While I joy to show Satan his end, the scenario changes when it comes to people.

I am called upon to pray for them and bless them. To ask that God's goodness and favor be upon their lives. Why? Because God desires to work in them just like He works in me. He is poised and desirous to bring about change in their life. When that happens their words and actions will change.

Father, You have written the end of the story in very dramatic fashion! Continue to be the Author and Finisher of my faith. Amen.