SURROUNDED BY SERPENTS

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. Gen.3:1(a) NIV

                     And I will put enmity
                Between you and the woman Gen 3:15(a)NIV
In our Wives Club sessions we use a drawing of a cross on a hill, with blood flowing from that cross, to signify the love of God poured out for us.  We describe this never-ending flow as the source of all that we need to live victoriously in obedience to the word of God.  However, the entire border of the drawing is surrounded by serpents. They are there to remind us of the opposition Satan will always put around us.  He wants to convince us that no help is coming, no one will rescue us; we remain slaves to our senses and our perceptions of hopelessness.

 

It is not a pretty picture, but it represents our reality.  Though we are surrounded by serpents, we can choose how we view them.  God has placed a natural hatred between the woman and the serpent but the serpent retains his cleverness.  All the cunning serpents that surround you have names you know.  You recognize some of them immediately, others are disguised.  The one named “You Will Never Accomplish Anything” squirms right past “No One Appreciates You”.  There is “I Can’t Stand This” and “That’s the Last Straw”, “That Hurt My Feelings” and “How Dare You”.  You come face to face with “Remember Your Past”, who likes to hang out with “Remember Your Wounds”.

 

Far more devious than those serpents are the ones who are in disguise.  They look and sound like our own thoughts and attitudes and we claim them as our own.  We keep them and coddle them; feed and pamper them.  We say “that’s my personality”, “that’s the way I am”, “it’s a family trait”, and “I just can’t help it.”  Or they hide so well we say, “I’m not like that. You’re the one who needs help.  I’m fine.”  Daily, they plot the weapons they will form against us

 

But, we are not at their mercy, defenseless against their treacherous assaults.  First, we were forewarned (Gen 3:15). They have not caught us by surprise. This is a strategic advantage! Then, we were trained.  Christ demonstrated for us how we were to do battle against the tempting wiles of the serpent (Mt 4:3-10).  Finally, we were rescued and our enemy vanquished (Jn 18:30). 

 

The echoes of this old battle continue to rage on around us.  But we have only to cry out to our deliverer, RESIST this defeated old foe and his battered troops, and they will flee. Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord.