Cramping Your Style

We had a bull on our farm when I was young. Great animal, except for one little thing: he hated being confined to a pen…or a pasture…or multiple pastures for that matter. When he decided that it was time to take a little walk through the fence (and I do mean through the fence) or take a leap over the fence, then he would do so and casually stroll wherever he might want to go. Any barrier, whether perceived or real, would be seen as a threat to his freedom and would be dealt with accordingly. One particular summer night stands out in my mind because on that night, discovering the bull was out and roving about the neighborhood, we went to find him in our truck. Before the night was over, the truck got a little too close and had its grille torn to pieces by the calmly-executed movement of a well-placed horn. The lessons learned were simple: he didn’t like fences or anything else that came too close. He was good-natured, so long as he had room to do just as he pleased and we didn’t invade his “space.”

I’ve seen that those things that stand in opposition to the work of God (the world, the flesh, and Satan) work the same way as the bull. So long as you don’t “cramp their style” they will leave you be. When you allow God to come against those towering strongholds and the fallow, unproductive ground in your life, you can be assured that there will be opposition. Areas that were once no real threat are now seen as places where the power of God is seen at work, and Satan won’t like it, the world won’t like it, and your flesh won’t like it. I’ve talked to people who seem mystified that when they try to live for Christ in the workplace they are ridiculed by people. They are stunned that a life with Christ has troubles, amazed that Satan would launch a counter-attack or attempt to undermine what God wants to do in the life of the Christian. Even more unsettling is the activity of the flesh, the habits of who you were before coming to Christ, fighting against the work of the Spirit of God.

This is why Jesus says, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18,19). In Romans we find the command, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Rom. 13:14). And Peter writes, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8). You are to watch and take great care when doing the will of God. The world, the flesh and Satan will combat your every move toward obedience to Christ and everything done for His glory. If you aren’t in the battle, then you will never have to face the arrows, but if you are facing the arrows for His sake, know that He is doing something in your life and in your personal ministry that is a threat to the enemies of God.

Dustin C. George
Minister to Single Adults
www.sevierheights.org/ministries/singles