Lindsay Roberts
Four types of messages come to us that we should never accept as coming from God. They are messages that do not promote or further God’s work in us. Avoid them. Refuse to listen to them. Reject them! Refuse to allow them to influence you.
First, have you ever experienced the person who is always looking for a fight? It seems as if they begin their day by thinking, “Who am I going to have for lunch?” instead of “What am I going to have for lunch?” If you stand and make yourself available to them, they’ll pick a fight with you. Don’t allow it to happen. Jesus said, “Turn your other cheek and refuse to fight” (Matthew 5:39). Walk away. In so doing, you’ll resist evil.
Second, there’s the person who always says no to everything. My daughter, Chloe Elisabeth, went through that stage when she turned two years old. I’d say, “Do you want to come?” “No!” “Do you want to stay?” “Do you want to wear your red dress or the purple one?” “No!” No matter what I asked, the answer was no. Have you ever encountered an adult who always has a “no” answer? Instead of becoming angry and argumentative, pray and walk away in love. Recognize that you’re never going to win, and walk away. God can’t do anything through a person who always says no because it may be that they’re saying no to Him, too!
Third, there’s the person who says, “God is going to get you.” For years, a particular woman went about telling others that the reason I was having miscarriages was because I was so far away from God. Then she had a miscarriage and it began to change her theology. She was preaching what I call a “gospel according to opinion.” Opinions change. The Gospel doesn’t. The Gospel says that Jesus went about healing all who were oppressed of the devil. The Gospel says that Jesus wants us to be born again and have everlasting life. The Gospel says that Jesus died on the Cross for our sins and was resurrected so we could have hope in our lives. The Gospel says that we can be delivered from who we are without Christ and become who God wants us to be in Christ. If someone isn’t preaching the “good news” about our “good God,” go to the Word and find what Jesus says about good news and the goodness of God.
Finally, there’s the person who will always blame you for their problem. They always have to find a scapegoat for their troubles. I once saw a woman who had attempted to pay for a purchase in a department store with a credit card and the clerk came back and told her that her credit card had been rejected and that her purchase was denied. That woman became furious, and do you know who she took it out on? The clerk! As if the clerk had anything to do with setting the limit or rejecting the card! If someone is blaming you, or blaming others, for things that are their own doing…refuse to accept the blame or to agree with them. They’ll never face their own sin if you allow them to put that sin on you or someone else. The only One Who can carry and take away their sin, is Jesus Christ.
Ask the Lord Jesus to help you today to separate people from their messages. Ask Him to give you the strength on the inside to stand up and say no in your spirit to a fight, to a constant negativism, to a false message about God, or to blame you don’t deserve. In so doing, you’ll be resisting the devil’s attacks against you.