Facing Your Accuser
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. ” Rev. 12:10-11
If I were to speculate as to the worst vexation of being an only child, it would be that there is no one else on whom to lay the blame. Who made this mess? Who ate the last cookie? As long as there is another child, we have the opportunity to, at the minimum, cast doubt in our parents’ mind. Blessed is the child with enough siblings to spread the blame around!
As believers in Christ, we have an enemy. We have one who accuses us before our God:
” Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. ” (Zec. 3:1)
In addition, our adversary accuses God to us:
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:4)
Our enemy is actively pointing the accusing finger trying to cast blame, doubt, unbelief and a lack of confidence. We have to actively guard our minds against such assault. Instead,
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:5
I don’t know about you, but I struggle at times with feeling that I am not enough. That I do not do things well enough. That perhaps, God is disappointed in me. It is so exciting to realize that the enemy has no real ammunition to fire at us. Not that we, as believers, are perfect in our performance all of the time! Not at all! But he is disarmed because the blood of Jesus is enough to cancel our sin debt and wash us as clean and blameless as Christ is! We are seen hidden in Him and God sees us as perfected in righteousness.
The second part of the main text says that they ” overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”. The part that is ours is the testimony! Are you speaking the truth that Christ has made you free? I urge you to speak that truth out loud so that you can let the Word sink into your spirit. His Word is to be exalted above our feelings and experience. Testify to the devil when he comes to accuse you, that in Christ Jesus you are pure, righteous holy and blameless! (I Thess. 2:10) And finally, do not fail to testify to others what God has done for you. Your testimony is power- not only in your life, but in the life of your hearers.
Dear Lord, thank you that you have defeated my accuser and covered up my imperfections with your perfection. Thank you that I do not stand condemned, but instead, stand justified in You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
I enjoyed this Sherri. Yes we have an accuser but we also have a Redeemer!
Yes, I do feel often that I am not good enough or seem to know what it takes. But I have to remember to Whom I belong to. Thank you for the reminder.