The weekly meditation scripture and inspirational nugget are designed to encourage you in your walk with God, strengthen your faith and give you a specific scripture to meditate on all week long. To get the most out of these weekly scriptures, we encourage you to keep them before you every day and apply them to your life and circumstances. Declare them daily and stay focused on them until you experience true results.
Standing Strong Against Strife
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We live in a world filled with strife. Most people have become so accustomed to the discord and feuding it causes that they simply try to deal with it as best they can. Strife is marked by bitter resentment and never-ending hostility; it can destroy our friendships, our family relationships, and everything dear to us. However, believers don’t have to put up with it, and God’s favor is the weapon we use to stand against it.
This evil spirit is sent by Satan, the ruler of this world. People locked in strife may not be aware of where it comes from, and are therefore easy targets for the enemy. However, Jesus has stripped the devil of his authority, including the power to allow strife to dominate us. As children of God with the Holy Spirit living in us, we know that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.
Strife causes jealousy and division; it confuses us and keeps us from knowing what course of action to take when making decisions. Where envy and strife are, there’s also confusion and every evil work. This spirit prevents us from forgiving each other and even tells us that God can’t forgive us for our mistakes. However, we can forgive one another because Christ has already forgiven us.
When the spirits of anger and pride get mixed with strife, sin is the result; this is a dangerous combination. He who loves transgression loves strife. An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgression. Thankfully, God has given us authority over negative emotions.
It can be tempting to get caught up in this vicious cycle unless we focus on God’s Word instead of on what people around us say and do. When we let God, instead of people, guide us on how to feel, we find a calmness and a peace not found in the world. Trusting Him in this area gives us the strength to win against strife.
Prayer:
God, the spirit of anger is all around us, but trusting in You keeps us safe from it. Because Your Spirit is in us, we can live in the world without being part of it. Thank You for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Scriptures:
1 John 4:4
James 3:16
Colossians 3:13
Proverbs 17:19
Proverbs 29:22
