Given Over

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 16:14, But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.

Saul now finds himself in a very sad state of being. The protection he enjoyed while the Spirit was upon him was now gone. The LORD withdrew Himself from Saul and left the door open for Satan and his demons to takeover. How blessed are we who are in Christ that the Spirit of God is more than upon us, He is in us. 1 Corinthians 3:16 clearly tell us, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Unlike Saul and those who lived during Old Testament times, we are indwelt and protected 24/7. A person who does not have the Holy Spirit is left wide open to be possessed and tormented by demons. Saul’s rebellion and disobedience led God to the place where He would withdraw from him. Although God will never withdraw His Spirit from us, it is possible for us to grieve and quench the Spirit in our lives. Ephesians 4:25-32 says, “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. 26 ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” In short, when we practice anything that was listed in these verses, we grieve the Holy Spirit of God; when we lie, sin in anger, steal, curse, hold on to bitterness, or refuse to forgive one another. Sadly, there will come a time, if we insist on resisting the Spirit, as Saul did, that God will give us over to our desires. With Saul, God withdrew His Spirit and allowed him to be tormented. Saul became depressed, paranoid, suspicious, and was a classic case of what today would be called mental illness. Although it would be wrong of us to automatically assume that someone is possessed when they suffer from mental health issues, the fact of the matter is that there are many unsaved people who are suffering from being possessed, while there are also Christians who are suffering from the consequences of their continued rebellion and disobedience. I want to make something clear at this juncture. There are cases where a person suffers from mental illness because of a chemical imbalance or some other physiological reason, and do need medication to correct it. Nonetheless, there are times when God gives the unbeliever over to their sinful ways, as told in Romans 1:18-32. These people are doomed to eternal condemnation if they continue to rebel against God’s truth. For us, the follower of Christ, God will give us over to the consequences of our sinful ways. He will allow it in order to discipline us and bring us back to a loving, obedient, walk with Him (Hebrews 12:5-11). Whether we want to admit it or not, there are far too many born again believers that are walking around depressed, trouble in their mind and spirit, and giving up on life. Their defeat is not coming from the devils’ ability to oppress us, for in Christ they have no power over us. The sad fact is that too many of us have continued to resist God’s leading and correction in our lives, and we have bought into the world’s lies about what it means to live a happy, successful life, forcing God to allow the consequences of living as friends of the world to take effect in our lives. Would God really allow that? The answer is simple, “Yes, He will.” Let us not forget Job. God initiated the conversation that led Satan to accuse Job, then God allowed Satan to take Job’s children, and inflict him physically. However, not once did God take His eyes off that situation or allow Satan to cross the boundaries God set, because God had a purpose in what He started and allowed. The best course of action any of us can take to avoid finding ourselves living a depressed and tormented life, that is the result of rebellion and sin, is to live a life of love for, and obedience to, Jesus Christ.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).