I know that no true Christian would willingly honor or revere the devil. Even so, the devil will steal as much credit as he can get, no matter how he gets it. A sincere Christian who inwardly blames God for the suffering he goes through, is honoring the devil. He's letting Satan and his demons get off, scott free. He becomes ever so slightly embittered towards God. He reasons that if God, who is all-powerful, doesn't remove this injustice, then God must want him to suffer. Therefore, God is cruel.
He may not know that God is requiring him to fight against it, to rebuke evil in his prayers and to persist (like the Bible teaches) until God's justice shines through. And most Christians do try somewhat hesitantly, unsure if it's God's will or not of them to pray in such an audacious way. They may see God mercifully answer right away, but often when there's real demonic resistance to their attempts, the answers don't appear as soon as they'd like, and they give up discouraged. Of course they would never outwardly blame God, but in the back of their minds a thought grows - God let them down. It gradually eats away at their faith so that any future spiritual battle is already lost.
Christians who don't even try anymore are the saddest and most defeated. They find themselves in the worst position of being a poster child for the devil's campaign called: God Doesn't Care. God's people are rendered impotent. They may be good and kind, but they have lost the will to fight. Meanwhile the devil is basking in his glory.
For God to be given true honor and glory, His children need to be unrelenting warriors in prayer, and in determination to see His Kingdom advance. If it's fighting for the spiritual freedom of someone who is lost in addictions, or fighting their own fleshly desires, or fighting for the salvation of their cities and towns, God's Word needs to be taken seriously. If He promises victory, we need to insist on victory, and if that means we need to change for Him, to purify our hearts more, to become more humble or more courageous or more whatever it is that He wants, we have to be stubborn in our pursuit to do so so He is honored. Christians who fail to do this, by default, disrespect God's promises and honor demons.
Read the next post coming up: Restoring Awe and Respect for God: the New Temple of Solomon
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