“Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack.” (Psalm 56: 1 NIV).
When you need a break, ask Jesus for mercy. As Christ followers, we are always under attack from the devil. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV). His attacks can feel like a thousand mosquitoes swarming around you. The harder you swing to get rid of them, the more they attack. The problem we have, we try to stave off the attack on our power. When we’re under attack, we need Jesus’s power to save us. When you need a break, ask Jesus for mercy.
When you need a break, ask Jesus for mercy.
Jesus has given us the weapons we need to fight the evil in this world. He’s given us a suit of armor that we are to put on dailly:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:10-12, 14-18 NIV).
In other words, put on your bug spray. We get swarmed with mosquitoes because we don’t put on our bug spray in the first place. When we put on God’s armor, we’re putting on bug spray to defend against the attacks of the devil. Instead of the mosquitos swarming around us, they are repelled by the bug spray. In the same way, when we put on the armor of God, it’s a repellant to the devils attacks. His fiery arrows miss their mark as we stand firm in Jesus.
When you need a break, Jesus has an answer. He has prepared a way for you to stand strong in the midst of battle. He has designed a suit of armor just for you. His mercies are new every morning, His strength always able to carry you through. But first you have to turn to Him. When you need a break, ask Jesus for mercy.
Question of the Day:
Do you need to ask Jesus for mercy today?
Further Reading: Numbers 19:1-20:29 NIV, Luke 1:1-25 NIV, Psalm 56:1-13 NIV, Proverbs 11:8 NIV