I heard recently what happened to Fred Astaire, the greatest dancer ever, when he was attending an audition to get a job before he was famous! After his audition, the Director of the show wrote the following words on his report on Fred, ‘can’t sing, can’t act, can dance a little!’ We can laugh at this now knowing that Fred went on to be one of the most amazing singers, actors and exceptional dancers of his time, but I am sure those words must have hurt. However, despite the negative comments, Fred went on to prove his critic wrong!
I was walking down a street with a group of friends in Spain one day, when one of them said in my hearing, “The only thing Nancy has going for her is the shape of her body!” When the others chastised her for her words, she went on to explain that in her opinion without my body shape I would look nothing! I laughed at what she said with the others in the group, but later thought to myself that if I had been insecure those words could have deeply hurt me. I had gone through years of hearing my late husband, Ray tell me that he thought I was beautiful (even though he saw me at times at my worst!) and therefore her words didn’t hurt as much as they would have if I hadn’t known the deep love of my husband. When we know that God delights in us, when we really know that he loves us warts and all, then we can deal better with the criticisms that life often brings.
The way to know his love is to keep reading the Bible and sit in his presence daily. When we soak ourselves in him and his word, when we listen to the truth and hide it deep within us, then we will experience how the truth can set us free from the lies the enemy can fool us into believing. Do remember it was the lies of the serpent in the Garden of Eden that eventually led to sin and fear.
Recently I heard a story of an 80-year-old man who had felt he had ‘lost’ his salvation. He was so disturbed that all he could do was to cry at the top of his voice, “I am lost! I am lost!” His wife took him to the home of Smith Wigglesworth, an amazing man of God to ask if Smith would pray for him. When Smith met the couple, it was impossible not to hear the utter despair in this man’s voice as he shouted at the top of his voice, “I am lost! I have committed the unpardonable sin. I am lost. I am lost!” When I heard this story, I was already thinking in my mind what I would do or say to change this man’s condition, however what Smith Wigglesworth did just didn’t occur to me! Led by the Holy Spirit, Smith Wigglesworth commanded the lying spirit to come out! In a moment, the evil spirit left and the man was completely free! What a lesson for us all. We must not allow the lies of the enemy to find a place in our lives. The devil knows that if he can capture our thought life, he has won a mighty victory over us! Today and every day – eat the truth of God’s words and keep them alive in your heart!
