I’ve grown tired of the devil. I know this is an interesting way to start a post but follow me. This weekend was powerful! I attended Georgette Rojas’s Fashioned By God: Couture Conference. The atmosphere was potent with encouragement, confirmation, and revival of what God planted in every woman in the room. I went home confident and assured in the call of God in my life. But then, I went to sleep. And while I slept, I had a wild dream. As I woke up from the dream, I began to pray, and as I began to pray, I immediately understood that the enemy had come to defile what the Lord had imparted to me during the conference. I was ready to fight. I committed today that when the enemy comes to attack me, I will share the gospel and the tactics God has given me against him. After praying, I opened my bible app and looked at the verse of the day. It came from Roman 12. I began to read the entire chapter and realized this chapter was a part of God’s strategy of living undefiled. Because when the enemy attempts to steal or destroy what God has for us, I want those around me to be ready. So today, I am sharing with you four tactics for living a life undefiled.
What does it me to defile. It means to sully, mar, or spoil. When God gives us gifts, they are excellent and perfect in every way. But the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. He isn’t happy with the good and perfect gifts we’ve received from the Lord. So he sends attacks, temptation, opportunities, people – whatever he can to blemish what God called perfect, to cause us to mishandle what God called perfect, or to lose/reject what God called perfect. The tactics I am sharing below are not a complete game plan, but my focus today is on how we should live our lives. So let’s get into it.
Sacrifice. Romans 12 begins with the instruction, “And so, dear Christian friends, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice – the kind He will accept.” A life with Jesus, in general, requires sacrifice. What is acceptable in the world is often unacceptable to the Lord. Because of that, there is safety in sacrifice. Living a sacrificial life pushes boundaries against those things that will defile us. God is so good; he will begin to speak to you, telling you what you need to give to him. “Sacrifice your love for this or that for me,” “Give me that relationship.” “Walk away from that Job opportunity.” Not knowing that God is actively protecting us from what could destroy us. Sacrifice can be so painful when we cannot see that we are giving up the things of this life for our good. There is nothing we do for the Lord that would make him more God than he is – sacrifice benefits us more than him. It strengthens our ability to say no to ourselves and the enemy, simultaneously strengthening our ability to say yes to the Lord. Sacrifice is like a muscle that must be exercised or a healthy diet that must be maintained. If you allow yourself to eat anything and never discipline your body down the line, you will see the negative impacts. If anything goes on in your life and you never make the sacrifice that the word of God makes clear or as the Holy Spirit directs, you will also see negative impacts.
Awareness. Do you walk in understanding of your gifts? Are you sure of who God has called you to be? The enemy’s strategy is to attack you in areas of your giftings and calling so you can remain stagnant. But, Romans 12:5-8 tells us that God has given us each a unique ability, a role in the body of Christ, and to do them well. Why is this important? From awareness, we can decern where the enemy sees us as most vulnerable (Peter 5:8). We develop a focus when we walk in an awareness of our gifts. This focus is going to eliminate distraction. This focus will weed out the people, places, things, and opportunities you say not to. This focus will protect you from partaking in what will defile you because anything that works against the role of God isn’t for you.
Love. This one is easy. When we walk in pure love, we directly oppose the enemy because the enemy has 0 capacity to give real love. Everything we do in love is the total opposite of what satan desires. We live to fulfill the nature of God, which is love. Where the enemy defiles – love purifies. Satan brings fear but love cast out fear. The enemy is telling you to quit, but love is always hopeful it never gives up. Where you find unforgiveness, love keeps no record of wrong. Walking in love is so vital because walking anything outside of love leaves a nasty residue on you and the hearts of others. So not only are you living in ways that oppose the ways of love – but you also defile others along the way. Always walk in love. (Romans 12:9-10)
Forgiveness. “Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, “I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,” says the Lord. Unforgiveness is a large open door to spiritual attack. When we do not forgive others, we welcome the spirit of offense and bitterness to take root, and we are taking what belongs to the Lord for ourselves, vengeance. Be quick to turn over unforgiveness or any offense to the Lord. He knows what to do with your hurt and the person’s behavior towards you. God’s healing is not available to us when we choose not to walk in unforgiveness. Matthew 6:14 says, “Forgive others so that you may be forgiven.” Unforgiveness leaves you with the blemishes of sin because you cannot be forgiven of sin. Ask the Lord to help you to be able to forgive quickly and to have compassion for those who hurt you. (Romans 12:17-21)
These were just a few notations I picked up from Romans 12. With prayer and fasting, we are on the right track. Our focus is not on what the enemy does but on living devoted to God. That, in turn, defeats the enemy. I would love for you to comment below and share your thought or experiences. Stay encouraged in the Lord, always pray and rest in his presence.
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