Who Will You Believe?
From the Armor series
“Lord God, you are God; your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.”
2 Samuel 7:28 CSB
Hey friend,
I’m glad you are here!
It’s important to lay a solid foundation before we move into discussing the pieces of armor that God has given us. Last week we chatted about the fact that we are in a spiritual wrestling match. And by that, I don’t mean a meager match but an all-out war with a real enemy who seeks to devour you and me. The enemy is relentless in his tactics and schemes but that doesn’t mean that we are destined to walk around defeated. Absolutely not!
As we continue to pray and seek God about areas that the enemy is targeting in our lives, it’s imperative that we are keenly aware of the character traits of our God as well as the traits of our enemy. Friend, why do you think this is important? Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that our hearts are deceitful – we can be deceived in the heat of the battle if we aren’t firmly planted and aware of the character traits of each.
2 Samuel 7:28 says, “Lord God, you are God; your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.” Friend, God’s word is trustworthy. We get to know more about the character of our trustworthy God through the pages of His word. And when we do, we can see the lies of the enemy for exactly what they are. Lies, lies, and more lies! When the enemy starts whispering false accusations towards us, we are better armed to recognize them and combat them with the truth. Jesus modeled this for us in Matthew 4:1-11 when He countered Satan’s lies and twisted words with God’s truth.
A. W. Pink writes this about God’s faithfulness: “God is true. His Word of Promise is sure. In all His relations with His people, God is faithful. He may be safely relied upon. No one ever yet really trusted Him in vain. We find this precious truth expressed almost everywhere in the Scriptures, for His people need to know that faithfulness is an essential part of the Divine character. This is the basis of our confidence in Him.”
God is patient, kind, forgiving, compassionate, loving, unchangeable, gracious, righteous, merciful, trustworthy, and true. These are just a few of the many character traits of our good God. When the choice comes down to who we will believe in, God’s trustworthy character outweighs Satan’s character traits of liar, deceiver, trickster, thief, accuser, tempter every single time – without fail!
Sweet friend, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego modeled this for us so perfectly in Daniel 3:16-18. These three Hebrew guys knew that God could save them from the fiery furnace, but instead of focusing on their circumstances, they were firmly planted in God’s character and in God’s goodness no matter the outcome. Before we can strap on our armor, we must decide who we will choose to believe. It’s absolutely necessary for our victory!
Dear God,
Thank you for your faithfulness to us. You are so faithful even when we fail to be faithful to you. Cement the truth of who you are into my soul. Give me a solid foundation of who you are so that when the enemy comes at me with his lies – I can know the truth and stand firm. I love you, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Dig Deeper:
Meditate on these truths of God’s character
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Isaiah 40:28
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
Malachi 3:6
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”
Numbers 23:19
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Romans 5:8
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Psalm 116:5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion
Psalm 34:8 “O, taste and see that the Lord is good”
Psalm 145:8 "The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness."
Joel 2:13 “Tear your hearts not just your clothes and return to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and he relents from sending disaster.”