Attacks

The attacks of the enemy (satan) on my life have been many. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:6-9 If it is the drug addict or the prostitute or other sexual sins, they have been around for a long time. I remember the time my parents invited a homosexual in our home, not knowing what this man was or was doing under their roof. They had good intentions but satan desired to destroy. I am not defined by what satan used to try and destroy me. At one time satan tried to destroy me through suicide. I am not defined by what he tried to use to destroy me. My God is bigger than my sin, his grace is more powerful than my lowest state. At another he tried to destroy me through illicit relationships. But Gods grace brought me through the lonely days of divorce. I was able to resist the temptations of drugs, I did partake of alcohol to the point of extreme drunkenness and in God's mercy allowed me to make it all the way home. I know others that lived the drug lifestyle. I had a roommate in the early 70's that was addicted to drugs and that temptation I was able to resist. I remember seeing these men my age, talking about speed and how they would love to have a big jar of speed to get high at will. I remember looking at that and realizing I did not want that addiction to control my life. I put my self in harms way many times during my troubled marriages. On the streets looking for a loved one, and I remember one time a man telling me he knew where this person was and started to lead me towards a dark alley. The Spirit of God warned me don't go there, I turned around and left. I remember another time a man was going to help me he had a woman sit in my car to keep me there until he returned. I knew something was wrong, and the woman step up and away from the door just long enough for me to pull away with the door open and I was gone. Once I was walking along the railroad tracks and a woman came from the other direction and said, you do not want to go there, I turned around.  Satan desires to destroy us, each of us and his ways are many. I remember the night when I was so angry and wanted to bust windows out of my wife's boyfriends car and apartment. God intervened and my son called me and said Dad what are you doing? Satan used life and the difficult situations I went through to try and destroy me. Although my actions were not always perfect, my God was there to deliver me. I remember once confronting a drug dealer and my wife at that time pleaded with the drug dealer to spare me. Satan desired to destroy me. Satan used the desires of the flesh at many times to put me in harms way. Yet here I am redeemed by the grace and mercy of a God who is bigger than our pain, stronger than our sin. Yes I allowed flesh to enter my life at so many times and God spared me. To this day I react without thinking and put myself in harms way. Just weeks ago I stepped between and angry man and his wife who was trying to leave him. A few weeks earlier a young man was beating a woman with a belt at a local gas station and I stepped in with out thinking. I am so thankful for a God that has delivered me from so many attacks of satan, not only on me personally, but even on others. God has us in his sights at all times and is able to deliver us. I know at many times I put myself in harms way. I need to use more wisdom and God does give to those that ask. But know that satan is alive and well and does seek to destroy. Seeing what I have encountered in my life and how satan has tried to destroy me it is no surprise to see him attack a supreme court justice nominee as is happening. I am not defined by what satan tried to use against me to destroy me at even age 16.  Satan does not give up his territory easily. Through prayer and by God's grace I am still here and hopefully still doing what God desires. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.  Psalm 139:16  None of my days were hidden from God. God bless, LVZ