Victory: The Overcoming of an Enemy

If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.

(1 John 1:8-10 The Message)

What is the main enemy of quiet? What robs us of a calm, unwavering faith?

 The psalmist warns,

 "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened. " (Psalm 66:18 ESV) 

Cherishing sin over  God makes for  very quiet, quiet time. If  sin prevents communication between us and God, then seeking reconciliation through confession and trusting God's forgiveness is paramount.

It's easier for me to focus on emotion filled praise sessions and passionate intercession, than quiet, simple confession of my weaknesses, my faults and my sin tendencies. 

Time after time I have read that confession heals, but do I practice this discipline? Not often enough. 

Today, I am going to share Pam Farrel's ideas about dealing with our "dark sides." She gives us some practical techniques and principles for victory:

To win a victory over the dark side [our weaknesses and our sin nature], we must be very deliberate. Make a list of weaknesses, then go to the Bible to find verses to equalize your life. 

Here's an example from the book:

[Her] list of weaknesses included fear, feeling inadequate, feeling stupid, feeling overwhelmed . . . Next to each weakness she listed traits of God that can counter the weakness. For example, next to "stupid" she wrote "all-knowing mind of Christ." Next to "overwhelmed" she wrote "able." Next to "inadequate and spineless" (she was hard on herself) she wrote "adequate, strong, fortress." By using a good concordance she located verses that included those key words. 

Pam offers this technique to deal with nagging guilt:

Write all those nagging sins down, then write the test of 1 John 1:9 over it--right over the top, ink over ink! This creates a picture of how God blots out sin. You may then want to destroy the list. (A fireplace can come in handy here.) It is such a relief to see that all our ugly thoughts and selfish actions are cremated by God's powerful love.

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam www.Love-wise.com

It felt so freeing to see my sins covered by God's word and then burned up by His "powerful love."

If you don't have a concordance  to look up more victory verses, you can look up Scriptures online for free at www.biblegateway.com. Once you gather them, write them down to post around your house or in your car to help you to combat the darkness with the light saber of God's love and forgiveness.

Which Scripture will you post to combat the darkness?