A Devotional
By Pastor Anton Bosch
Paul writes about the devil that “we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). Yet it
seems that many of us are ignorant of
the tricks and devices the evil one uses to thwart the plan of God. Satan knows
that most of us cannot be persuaded or intimidated to give up the good fight,
so he does what serves his purpose just as well – diversion. He uses many
tricks to accomplish this, including pressure, temptation, weariness and
obscuring the issues. As long as he can get us to focus on minor issues and not
continue with what the Lord has called us to do, he is happy.
Such diversion can take many forms. Some of them are good on
the surface, noble and godly things, while others are worldly things. Some of
the “good” things include: overemphasizing a doctrinal viewpoint, focusing on
legalism, or even getting bogged down with the things related to Christian
ministry. Some of the worldly things include careers, hobbies, sports,
recreation, family and possessions. The Devil will keep us busy and make us
feel we are doing the right things as long as we miss the call of God on our
lives.
One example of a man who seemed to fall in this trap often
was Saul, King of Israel. First he took upon himself the role of the priest to
present sacrifices, when he had been called to be the King (1Samuel 13:9). Then
he was tricked into sparing Agag when his instructions were to destroy all of
Amalek (1Samuel 15:8). Finally he wasted the rest of his reign hunting David
instead of fighting the real enemies. No wonder Saul came to the end of his
life and cried these pitiful words: “I
have played the fool and erred exceedingly” (1Samuel 26:21). It has to be
the most disappointing thing to come to the end of your life and realize that
you just wasted the one life God gave you – on trivialities! May I plead with
you, my brother and sister: you have one life and one shot at fulfilling your
destiny. Don’t allow the devil to rob you of God’s high calling.
Paul, on the other hand, had even more opposition, and
temptation to take a side road. But he persisted in doing only what he had been
commissioned to do by the Lord. There were the Jews who pressured him to
perform miracles. And the Greeks wanted him to display some of his brilliant
intelligence and argue with them over philosophical issues. He did not
acquiesce to either of them, but insisted that his calling was simply to preach
the Cross, and this he did with all his being (1Corinthians 1). At other times
Paul was so beaten up, stoned and ridiculed that it seemed impossible to
continue. But again he displayed a singular commitment to complete the purpose
for which he had been saved.
When Paul felt that the Lord had called him to preach to the
emperor in Rome, his well-meaning friends tried to prophesy him away from his
destiny while others clung to him, begged him and wept over him. But Paul was
committed to do what the Lord had saved him for to the very end. Not even the
prospect of prison and death could deter him. Paul could not be bribed,
discouraged, tempted or beaten into a diversion, not even for a single moment.
He summed his attitude up like this: “I
press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 3:14). Unlike Saul the King, this man Paul came to the end and
boldly declared: “I have fought the good
fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid
up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will
give to me on that Day” (2 Timothy 4:7). What a difference! Will you be
like Saul or like Paul?
Let me also remind you of our Ultimate Example – Jesus. He
came for one purpose and that was to do the will of the Father and to finally
die on the Cross (Hebrews 10:7-9). Every temptation and obstacle was placed in
His way to divert Him from the exact path that had been chosen for Him. In the
wilderness the Devil three times offered Him alternatives to the Cross. Peter,
his friend tried to persuade Him not to pursue the Cross. On two occasions the
mob tried to kill him. On Palm Sunday the crowd tried to crown Him as king –
all in an attempt to divert him from His mission. Finally, in the Garden of
Gethsemane, His own flesh cried for another way. But in all His 33 years He set
His face as a flint to fulfill the call of God (Isaiah 50:7). Not for one
minute did He digress but steadily made His way to Calvary, and when it was all
done He cried, “It is finished.” This He shouted not in defeat but in triumph
as He fulfilled every word that had been prophesied concerning Him and
fulfilled every detail of the Law. Nothing was left undone or incomplete! If
you had to draw a map of His life, it would be one continuous straight line
from the manger to the Cross.
How does the map of our lives look today? Are we on track or
are we, like the people of Israel wandering around in circles? Are we, like
Saul, off chasing rabbits and indulging our pet projects, or are we like Paul,
pressing towards the mark for the high call of God? We all take the wrong
crossroads sometimes, but more often we take those sidetracks that seem to head
in the right direction, but eventually end so far from our destination.
Where are you today?
If you are not exactly where the Master wants you, doing exactly what He has
called you to do, then it is time to make a correction to your course. An
aircraft may be pointed in the right direction, but the wind will slowly and
imperceptibly blow it off course. This is why the pilot has to check his
position frequently and make corrections to his course. Don’t leave the
adjustment undone. Don't wait to turn around until it is too late. Do it now
while the Captain is speaking