The Stumbling Block

When we come to Jesus He equips us with power to overcome by His blood. The Holy Spirit transforms us by the renewing of our minds and so we are able to shake off the habitual sins in our lives. Nonetheless, there are times when we stumble and fall. It causes us a great deal of pain and agony. We think less of ourselves and the shame at times is too great to bear and causes us to sink deeper into despair or give into the sin. We are apt to think we are weak and so give in and give up. This is only because we have to look at the situation from the perspective of the kingdom of God. Satan, being the adversary of God, is constantly plotting to uproot us from our faith. Although we are making every effort to live righteous before God, He is always placing stumbling blocks before us. A stumbling block is something that you did not put in your way. Say for example you were once addicted to drugs, you are driving to work, there is a detour and you have to now travel down the road where you use to buy drugs. The familiarity of the place brings back memories and urges. Now you find yourself in a dilemma. It was not your intent to go drive down that street, nor was it your intent to sit in your car and contemplate making a purchase. This is a stumbling block. The devil will set up occasions for you to stumble. We must learn to recognize when He is at work against us and not we ourselves. When you begin to recognize his tactics, you can stop the self condemnation and rebuke the devil’s works against you. If we can just recognize those moments for what they are, stumbling blocks, we would recognize how precious we are to God. Satan wants what is precious to God. Do you see? You are the prize. Recognize His stumbling blocks!