Deceit
6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Acts 13:6:11
When you are waiting on an answer to a prayer, who and what do you listen to? Do you take the advice of someone who you know won't tell you the truth and give you what you want to hear, or do you simply rely on what you think you want to do? Do you take a poll where the only the choices to the questions are answers that get you what you want, or do you spend your time convincing the people around you that your decision is the right one? If you look at the first four things I have mentioned here, they all have to do with "I" and "me" and what "you" want to have happen. These things can also be led by the deceitful enemy just as Elymas above. The enemy uses this deceit to keep you from waiting on the answer to come. You, I or me cannot answer our own prayers because we are not in control. We all need to wait for the truthful answer by letting the Holy Spirit lead us through the darkness and guide our decisions. We don't need to spend our time convincing ourselves and others we have made the right decision, because if you have to convince yourself it probably isn't the right one.
Have a great weekend.
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