Refuse to come down!

 It is always the desire of God to lift us up and to set us on high (Psalms 91:14) and to cause us to ride upon the high places of the earth (Isaiah 58:14).
Conversely, it is always the aim of the devil to bring us down, even to the pit of hell which is his final destination.
In exalting us God uses various agents: Jesus Christ who sits with us in heavenly places; the word of God which is firmly fixed in the heavens, the Holy Spirit who sets our minds and hearts on the things that are above, and God’s messengers who remind us that we are spiritually seated together with Christ in the heavenly places.
Coming up is desirable because it is promotion. Coming down is demotion. Scriptures associate high places with good things; for example the transfiguration of Jesus on the mount and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on those who were in the upper room.
However, the enemy of our souls, Satan, sends his messengers to bring us down from the lofty positions God places us. The works of demons, gossips, false accusers, deceivers, scorners and despisers have one characteristic in common: to bring us down.
A fine example of the operation of the enemy to bring us down is seen in Nehemiah chapter six. Nehemiah was doing a great work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. But his personal enemies, Sanballat, Tobiah and Gershem were insistently inviting him to leave his work and come down to them in the plain of Ono. They hated to see him on high but they loved to be with him in the plain.
Misery loves company.  Nehemiah was steadfast and focused on his work, and thus he confounded his enemies. The same insidious invitations of the enemy come to us today.
The devil is relentless in using temptations, accusations and deceptions to bring us down from our God-given positions of power, authority, righteousness, holiness and usefulness. Have you ever wondered why committing a sin is called falling? It is a fall because we are elevated in Christ. It cannot be a fall if we were not set on high.
The enemy wants us to come down from the higher standards of life and holiness set forth in God’s word. He wants us to come down to the valley of fear from the mount of faith. He wants us to come down to the plain of the works of the flesh such as idolatry, strife, wrath and hatred. It hurts him to see us perched on the top manifesting the fruit of the Spirit: love, peace, joy, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.
Like Nehemiah, our capacity to successfully resist the enemy’s devious invitations to come down to the plain of sin, doubt and spiritual weakness lies in full occupation of heart and mind with noble things. The heart must not only be clean but also fully occupied. It must be occupied with the word of God and the worship of God. Demons are said to come and occupy hearts that are clean but unoccupied.
The hand too must be a diligent one; fully occupied in doing the great and noble work of God. A slothful hand is capable of being used for ignoble purposes. Besides full occupation of the heart and mind in the things of God, there is need to maintain focus. The focus of your mind should be on the noble task of pleasing God and none other. The history of most of our failures is actually a history of broken focus. When David’s focus was shifted from war to loitering at home, the enemy brought him down through the sin of adultery. The arrows of the enemy are strategically hurled at us it times of fatigue, loneliness and idleness. Watchfulness is our line of defence in these times. Without it our fall is certain.
Personal enemies, false accusations and temptations are easy to discern. It is the arrow of deception that is deadly for it is difficult to discern especially first person singular thoughts. Sometimes the enemy infiltrates our minds with his hideous thoughts, and deceives us into thinking they are our own thoughts.
For example, we need to beware thoughts like, “I should slow down on reading the Bible. I do not feel like going to church today. I won’t pray tonight.”  These thoughts are not really yours. They are thrown into your mind by deceiving spirits. Take them captive unto the obedience of  Christ, and choose truth in the face of lies. Refuse to come down; fight to remain in your holy and lofty position. Remember, the life of a dedicated Christian is not a downward spiral but an upward and heavenward surge.
 
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