My advice to Cheryl, and to all Christians who face those dark moments, is to listen to the words of the apostle Paul. He exhorted us not to grow weary, or as another translation says it, "not to lose heart." He's saying, "Don't quit. Keep fighting."

Life is a struggle, and the devil is determined to defeat and destroy us. We don't ever reach the place where we never have to fight. But it's not just our fight. Jesus is not only with us, but He is for us. He's at our side to strengthen us and to urge us onward.

My friend kept remembering the times she had failed, but I reminded her of the times she had succeeded. "You think the devil is in control, but that's not true. You have failed, but you have also succeeded. You have stood your ground and you have made progress."

"Don't quit. Don't give up." That's the message we need to hear. I think of the words of Isaiah: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you . . . ; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pa.s.s through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you" (Isaiah 43:1b-2).

This is G.o.d's promise. He doesn't promise to take us completely out of troubles or hards.h.i.+ps, but He does promise to be with us as we go through them. "Fear not," He says. That's the message we need to ponder. We don't need to fear because G.o.d is with us. And when G.o.d is with us, what is there to worry about?

G.o.d, despite my failures, You are with me, encouraging me not to give up. Please help me to remember that, with Your help, I can win. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

12.

"I Can't Help It!"

I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.

-DEUTERONOMY 30:19 When G.o.d begins to deal with us about wrong behavior, it's easy enough to say, "I can't help it," but it takes real courage and faith to say, "I'm ready to take responsibility and get my life straightened out."

Avoidance, which is not facing issues, is a major problem. Wrong things don't go away just because we refuse to acknowledge them. We often stuff things. We hide from them, and as long as we do, they have power over us. Issues buried alive never die.

For many years, I refused to deal with the s.e.xual abuse in my childhood. My father had abused me, so I left home the week I turned eighteen years old. I thought I was getting away from the problem by leaving, but I didn't realize I had the problem in my soul. It was in my thoughts, att.i.tudes, and words. It affected my actions and all of my relations.h.i.+ps. I had buried my past and stuffed my stuff. We don't have to live in the past-in fact, we are encouraged by G.o.d's Word to forget it and let it go. However, that doesn't mean that we are free to ignore the results of it and pretend that we are not hurting when we are.

I had a lot of bad behavior and negative att.i.tudes. I also had lots of excuses. I wasn't dealing with anything from the past; I was merely feeling sorry for myself and saying, "I can't help it. It's not my fault I was abused." And it wasn't my fault. But it was my responsibility to let G.o.d help me overcome all the bondages I was experiencing as a result of that abuse.

G.o.d began setting me free by dealing with me about all the wrong thoughts I had accepted and allowed. My mind had to change before my life could change. At first, I didn't even want to take responsibility for my thoughts. I thought, I can't help what I think-things just come into my head! I eventually learned that I could choose my own thoughts, and I could think things on purpose. I learned that we don't have to accept every thought that falls into our minds. We can cast down wrong ones and replace them with right ones.

I learned that instead of feeling helpless over the thoughts that fill my mind, I can-I must-do something positive.

Much of our thinking is habitual. If we regularly think about G.o.d and good things, G.o.dly thoughts become natural. Thousands of thoughts flow through our minds every day. We may feel that we have no control, but we do. Although we don't have to use any effort to think wrong thoughts, we have to use much effort to think good thoughts. As we begin to make changes, we will have to fight a battle.

Our mind is the battlefield, and Satan's primary way of initiating his evil plan for us is through our thoughts. If we feel we have no power over our thoughts, Satan will entrap and defeat us. Instead, we can determine to think in G.o.dly ways. We constantly make choices. Where do those choices come from? They originate in our thought life. Our thoughts become our words and our actions.

G.o.d has given us the power to decide-to choose right thinking over wrong. But once we make that choice, we must continue to choose right thoughts. It's not a once-and-for-all decision, but it does get easier. The more we fill our lives with reading the Bible, prayer, praise, and fellows.h.i.+p with other believers, the easier it is for us to continue choosing right thoughts.

It may sound as if I'm saying that trying to live the Christian life is nothing but one continuous struggle. That's partly true, but that's only a piece of the story. Too many people want to live victorious Christian lives, but they don't want to fight the battles. Victory, however, means winning and overcoming obstacles. We must also remember that living a life of disobedience to G.o.d is harder than choosing to live in victory. Yes, there are struggles but they are worth it in the end.

To think in the right way takes practice, and it is not always easy, nor does it feel natural for us to focus only on the good. But if we know this is the pathway to life-both now and in eternity-it's worth the effort and the struggle to think positive thoughts.

When we're bombarded with doubts and fears, that's when we need to take our stand. We don't ever want to say again, "I can't help it." We want to believe and say, "G.o.d is with me, and He strengthens me. G.o.d enables me to win." The apostle Paul said it this way, "But thanks be to G.o.d, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose]" (1 Corinthians 15:57-58).

We can choose. Not only can we choose, but we do choose. By not pus.h.i.+ng the bad thoughts from our minds, we're allowing them to invade us and take us captive.

It takes time to learn to choose good and push away evil. It won't be easy, but we're moving in the right direction every time we take responsibility and make right choices.

Powerful G.o.d, remind me that I can and do make choices every day. Please help me to monitor my thoughts, choosing only those that will help me overcome the devil and win the battle for my mind. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

13.

Wilderness Mentality The Lord our G.o.d said to us in h.o.r.eb, You have dwelt long enough on this mountain. Turn and take up your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites. . . . Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.

-DEUTERONOMY 1:6-8 Those of us who are parents know these words so well: "In a minute. Just a little longer." We call our children to leave their playing and come inside, but they want just a little more time to stay out with their friends. For now, at least, they're content playing and don't want to think about getting cleaned up or eating dinner. It's always, "Just a little longer"-if we let them. And at times, we adults act a little like those children who cry out, "Just a little longer."

I've met miserable people-those who disliked their lives, hated their jobs, or were in intolerable relations.h.i.+ps with the wrong kind of people. They knew they were miserable, but they did nothing about it. "Just a little longer." A little longer for what? More pain? More discouragement? More unhappiness?

Those are the people who have what I call the wilderness mentality. I want to explain that. Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. If they had obeyed G.o.d, stopped their grumbling, and moved straight ahead as G.o.d originally told them, they could have made the trip in eleven days. But it took them forty years.

Why did they finally leave? Only because G.o.d said, "You have dwelt long enough on this mountain." If G.o.d hadn't pushed them into the Promised Land, I wonder how long they would have stayed and longed to cross the Jordan.

They were people in bondage. Although they had seen miracles in Egypt and had praised G.o.d at the defeat of the Egyptian armies at the Red Sea, they were still in bondage. The chains were no longer on their bodies, but they had never removed those chains from their minds. That is the wilderness mentally.

For forty years, they grumbled. They had no water, and then G.o.d provided it for them. They grumbled about the food. Manna was all right, but they wanted meat of some kind. No matter what the situation, they were still mental prisoners. As they had been in Egypt, so they were in the wilderness. No matter how good things became, they were never good enough. They had forgotten all the hards.h.i.+ps and slavery in Egypt, and every time they were dissatisfied with Moses' leaders.h.i.+p they moaned, "Oh, if only we had stayed in Egypt."

They had forgotten how bad things were; they had no vision for how good things could get. When they had the chance to move into the new land, they were afraid. "There are giants in the land," they cried out. They had seen G.o.d's deliverance in the past, but they weren't ready for it in the present.

Finally G.o.d said, "Okay, it's time to move out." The Bible doesn't tell us about their att.i.tude, but there's no reason to believe it had changed. I can imagine they cried out, "Let's stay just a little longer. Things aren't good here, but we know how to live in the wilderness. We are afraid to leave this place-we have become used to it."

If you don't like your life, but you won't make the effort to change, you may have a wilderness mentality. If your mind stays filled with negative thoughts, they will keep you in bondage.

However, you can do something about it. You don't have to waste any more time. You can say, "I've dwelt long enough at this mountain. Now I'm going into the Promised Land-the land where I'll live in victory and defeat Satan's plans."

Great G.o.d, help me cast off the wilderness mentality. Help me take on the Promised-Land mentality and live in victory, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

14.

Little by Little And the Lord your G.o.d will clear out those nations before you, little by little; you may not consume them quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase among you.

-DEUTERONOMY 7:22 Recently I thought about my life from the time I seriously began to follow Jesus Christ to the present. Had I known then-at the beginning of the journey-all the things G.o.d would take me through, I would probably have been afraid to sign up for the trip.

As I look back, however, I realize that G.o.d held my hand and let me advance in small steps. I had times of great discouragement-as we all do. I remember times of bitter tears over my personal failures. But G.o.d kept nudging me forward.

That's the secret of living the victorious Christian life-we move ahead little by little. It's an inching forward over months and years. Most of us can understand that. The same is true in the battle for the mind. We don't roust Satan in one big blow and then live in victory forever after. We win one small battle, and then we're ready to move on to the next one. We may have a few major victories that come suddenly, but not many of them. The fight to destroy Satan's strongholds comes mostly by daily, doggedly, moving ahead.

The first time I thought of that fact, it was discouraging, until I realized the wisdom of G.o.d. After the Jews left Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, G.o.d spoke to them before they went into the Promised Land. It was a special land-fertile, beautiful, and promised to them. But in the more than 400 years since Jacob and his sons had left the land, others had moved in and occupied land that didn't belong to them.

For the children of Israel, it wasn't merely a matter of going in and settling down. They had to fight for every foot of ground-even though it was their inheritance.

That's how the spiritual principle works on every level. G.o.d has the blessings out there waiting for us, but it's up to us to go in and take the land. Just as it was for the Jews of old, it is a battle.

In the verse at the beginning of this chapter, G.o.d spoke of the beasts of the field. There were many wild animals in the land, and it could have been dangerous. But what if we thought of the beasts as pride? What if G.o.d suddenly gave us full, complete victory, and we never struggled again; how would that affect us? Surely pride would creep in.

Our att.i.tude then would be to look down on others who have not been as victorious as we have been. We may not express our condescension in words, but won't those we disdain sense that we think we're superior? And, truthfully, wouldn't we feel superior. We've made it; those poor souls are still struggling.

G.o.d has a wonderful plan for each of us, but it never comes with just one major victory, so that we never struggle again. Instead, it's an ongoing warfare, and we must remain vigilant and be aware of the attacks of the enemy.

Another aspect is that because we move ahead little by little, it makes us savor every victory. Each time we overcome or destroy one of Satan's strongholds, we rejoice. We can remain in a constant state of thanksgiving. If we've had only one victory, and that was thirty years ago, how dull our lives would be. Or worse yet, how easy it would be for us to take G.o.d for granted. Isn't it better to serve a G.o.d who takes us slowly forward, always showing us the way, always encouraging us? We always have new horizons to reach for, and that makes our journey with G.o.d exciting!

G.o.d, please forgive me for wanting all the victory right now. Help me realize that as I struggle and call on You, I see Your wonderful, loving, and caring hand taking me forward-little by little. For that, I'm so grateful. Amen.

15.

First the Suffering And after you have suffered a little while, the G.o.d of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.

-1 PETER 5:10 "Why do we have to suffer?" "If G.o.d truly loves us, why do all the bad things happen to us?" I hear such questions often. For thousands of years, people smarter than I am have wrestled with those questions, and they still haven't discovered the answers. I don't even try to answer the questions. I do make one comment, however: "If G.o.d only blessed us after we became believers-if He took away all suffering, hards.h.i.+p, and turmoil for Christians-wouldn't it be a way to bribe people into the faith?"

That's not the way G.o.d works. The Lord wants us to come to Him out of love and because we know we're needy-so needy that only He can fill those needs for us.

The reality is that from the time of birth until we go home to be with Jesus, we will suffer at times. Some have harder tasks than others, but suffering is still suffering.

I also think that when people watch us as we turn to G.o.d for help in our hards.h.i.+ps and they see our victories, it provides a witness to them. That witness may not always make them turn to Christ, but it does show G.o.d's presence in our lives and makes them aware of what they're missing.

Yes, we will suffer. The other day I had a new thought: Suffering results in thanksgiving. When our lives turn chaotic and we don't know what to do, we turn to the Lord for help, and He answers our prayers and sets us free. G.o.d speaks to us and comforts us. And the result is that we're thankful.

The time between suffering and thanksgiving is when the devil truly attacks our thoughts. He may begin by saying, "If G.o.d really loved you, you would not have to go through this." It's a subtle way of saying to us that serving G.o.d is useless. The truth is, we'll have problems if we're believers; we'll have problems if we're nonbelievers. But as believers, we'll also have victories. As believers in Jesus Christ, we can have peace in the midst of the storm. We can enjoy our lives during the hards.h.i.+ps because we truly believe that G.o.d is working on our behalf to bring deliverance.

The next attack of Satan is to whisper, "It's not going to get better. You have served G.o.d for nothing. See, this is what happens when you really need help and trust G.o.d. He doesn't care about you. If He truly cared, why would He allow you to suffer?"

This is where we have to stand firm. We can take courage from the story of Job. Few of us have suffered as he did-he lost his children, his possessions, and his health. His critics accused him of hypocrisy and deception. Because we know how Satan works, we realize that his so-called friends were tools of Satan. I'm sure they didn't realize they were being used by the devil to discourage Job. But just because they weren't aware, doesn't mean Satan didn't use them.

However, Job, a G.o.dly man, refused to listen. He said, "[. . . though He slay me, yet will I wait for and trust Him . . .]" (Job 13:15). He refused to allow Satan to attack his mind and make him question G.o.d. He didn't understand what G.o.d had done. There's no indication that Job ever understood. But one thing he knew, G.o.d was with him and he never doubted the love and presence of G.o.d.

That's the att.i.tude we want-that calm a.s.surance of G.o.d's love that says, "Though He slay me, yet will I wait for and trust Him." We don't have to understand or explain. In fact, I've heard it said this way, "Obedience is required; understanding is optional."

Finally, if we suffer, it just may be a powerful reminder that we are walking the same paths as some of G.o.d's greatest saints. Even in Peter's time, they suffered. In their case, it was Roman persecution; in our case, it may be people who don't understand us, or family members who turn against us. Regardless, suffering can and should end in thanksgiving.

My Master and my G.o.d, forgive me for always wanting the easy life. I admit that I don't want to suffer, and I don't like it when things go wrong. But I ask You to help me have a good att.i.tude and to trust You to bring good out of it. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

16.

No Condemnation Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

-ROMANS 8:1 "I should have known better," Cindy cried out to me. "All the signs were there that he wasn't the man for me." She had gone through two years of a painful marriage, of verbal and finally physical abuse. Then her husband left her for another woman. Now she felt doubly condemned-condemned for marrying him in the first place and condemned that she couldn't hold the marriage together.

"If I had been a good Christian, I could have changed him," she moaned.

I could have confronted her and said, "Yes, you did see the signs and you ignored them. You opened yourself up to this kind of treatment." I didn't say those words and wouldn't. They would not have helped Cindy.

What she needed right then was for me to stretch out my hand and comfort her. She was so self-condemned that she finally asked, "Will G.o.d forgive me?"

At first, her words disturbed me. The Bible is clear that G.o.d forgives any sin. Cindy knew the Bible, so her question wasn't due to a lack of knowledge; it was due to a lack of faith in a loving, caring G.o.d. She felt so dejected, and she didn't know if G.o.d loved her enough to forgive her.

I a.s.sured Cindy of G.o.d's forgiveness, but that wasn't the real issue that troubled her. Satan had whispered in her mind for such a long time that she had failed G.o.d, that she had deliberately disobeyed, and that G.o.d was angry with her.

The devil tries to stop us every chance he gets. I often use the a.n.a.logy of a baby learning to walk. We don't expect that baby to stand the first day and walk across the room like an adult. Those little ones will fall often. Sometimes they cry, but they always get back up. That may be some inborn quality, but I suspect it's because the parents are there saying, "You can do it. Come on, baby, get up and walk."

The scene is much the same in the spiritual world. All of us fall, but when we're encouraged, we get back up and try again. If we're not encouraged, we tend to stay down, or at least wait a long, long time before trying to get up again.

Never underestimate Satan's relentlessness. He will do whatever he can to trip you, and then make you feel so condemned that you won't want to get up again. He knows that his control is finished once you choose right thoughts and reject wrong ones. He wants to hinder you from clear thinking. He will attempt to thwart you through discouragement and condemnation.

I want to tell you what Cindy did. She wrote Romans 8:1 on three 3x5 file cards and pasted one on her mirror, one on her computer, and one on her dashboard. Every time she looks at the verse, she repeats it aloud. "Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit."

The Message puts Romans 8:1-2 like this: "With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death."

We are free in Jesus Christ, and we don't have to listen to Satan's condemnation. When we fail-and we will-that doesn't mean we are failures. It means we failed one time in one thing. It means we didn't do everything right. That doesn't make us a failure.

"Just let Christ be strong in your weaknesses; let Him be your strength on your weak days."1 Lord Jesus Christ, in Your name I pray for victory. When I fail, please remind me not only that You forgive, but that You also wipe away the guilt and condemnation. Please accept my grat.i.tude. Amen.

17.

No Hope Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in G.o.d and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my G.o.d.

-PSALM 42:5 "What's the use?" Jeff said to me. "I've tried many times to work for G.o.d and to accomplish great things. No matter what I do or how hard I work, I end up failing."