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“Some people roll over and play dead when backed into a corner by bad news.”

A thought by Mark Batterson (2016-09-06) from his book, Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small (Kindle Locations 1895-1896). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I hope you’re not like that but I know this as Mark says, “The Enemy comes to steal your joy, kill your dreams, and destroy your life. Jesus came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”

He goes on, “Simply put, we were born on a battlefield between good and evil, and we have to choose sides. I’m not one of those people who see a demon behind every bush. But I also know that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. We’re in a dogfight with the devil, and we don’t have to take it sitting down.”

Isaiah 54: 17, “No weapon formed against us will prosper.”  James 4: 7, “If we resist the devil, he will flee from us.”  And Romans 8: 31, “And if God is for us, who can be against us?”

Mark then says, “The Bible says the devil prowls around like a roaring lion. The key word is like. He’s a poser, and his bark is worse than his bite. Refuse to believe his lies or to cower to his intimidation. When he reminds you of your past, remind him of his future! Fight back with words of faith. Fight back with songs of praise.”

Mark tells the story of a friend of his who was going through some painful days in her life so she had gone to Africa with her dad to get away from them.  He said, “On the last day there, they went on a safari and came within two feet of a lion. Separated from it by a chain-link fence, Bonnie playfully said, ‘Hey kitty, kitty!’ That’s when the lion lunged at the fence and let out a roar that still makes her shudder a decade later! ‘My nerves caught fire,’ said Bonnie. ‘It felt like death by electrocution.’ Bonnie learned from her guide that a lion’s roar is meant to communicate dominance— to assert its authority in a territory. And the only thing that will silence a lion’s roar is the roar of a more powerful lion. That’s when Bonnie heard the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit: Bonnie, Satan walks around like a roaring lion looking to devour. But do you see that fence? That fence is the blood of Jesus, the blood of the Lamb. Satan may roar at you, but he cannot touch you. He is the one in a cage. You are the one that’s free. But you have been living your life like you’re the one in the cage and he is the one that’s free.”

I’m reading in my daily time the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22 and I’ve found that we win, he doesn’t.


So what is he saying to you that is taking away your joy?
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