Amen, Amen!!! One thing that the Lord has been showing me over the years is that our flesh has feelings that are not accurate. It is important to ignore our feelings and go with God's truth! When we go with God's truth, the feelings pass but the actions and reactions leave no residue of regret but only a sense of victory for having come through the trial unscathed.
Don't try to get through to the unrelenting narcissist, just carry on in Christ confident that He will fight for us.
Rule in the Midst of Your Enemies! - Francis Frangipane
True peace is the fruit of being confident in God’s love; it is born of the revelation that, regardless of the battle, "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). You are not self-assured, you are God-assured.
The God of Peace Will Crush Satan
To wage effective spiritual warfare, we must understand and use spiritual authority. Spiritual authority, however, is not forcing your will upon another person. When you have spiritual authority, you have established God’s peace in an area that once was full of conflict and oppression. Therefore, to truly be able to move in authority, we must first have peace.
The apostle Paul taught, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Rom. 16:20). When we maintain peace during warfare, it is a crushing deathblow to satanic oppression and fear. Our victory never comes from our emotions or our intellect. Our victory comes by refusing to judge by what our eyes see or our ears hear and by trusting that what God has promised will come to pass.
We will never know Christ’s victory in its fullness until we stop reacting humanly to our circumstances. When you truly have authority over something you can look at that thing without worry, fear or intimidation. Your peace is the proof of your victory. Jesus’ authority over the violent storm (Matt. 8:23-27) was the exercise and expansion of His peace over the elements. He did not fight against the storm nor did He fear it. In perfect peace, He faced its fury and subdued it with His authority. In Pilate’s court, in a world stirred to an emotional frenzy by the powers of hell, a holy tranquility surrounded Christ -- peace that was born out of His resolve to do God’s will no matter what the cost. His Spirit emanated a calm that perfectly represented the peace at God’s throne. In a matter of moments it was no longer Jesus who was on trial but Satan, Pilate and the religious establishment in Israel.
Satan’s arsenal consists of such things as fear, worry, doubt and self-pity. Every one of these weapons robs us of peace and leaves us troubled inside. Do you want to discern where the enemy is coming against you? In the network of your relationships, wherever you do not have peace, you have war. Conversely, wherever you have peace, you have victory. When Satan hurls his darts against you, the more peace you have during adversity, the more truly you are walking in Christ’s victory.
Paul tells us to be "in no way alarmed by your opponents -- which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you" (Phil. 1:28). Your peace, your immovable stand upon the Word of God is a sign that you are positioned correctly in focused submission to the will of God. The very fact that you are "in no way alarmed" by your adversary is a sign that you have authority over him.
Peacemakers Are Sons of God
Peace is Spirit power. Peace is an attribute of the Holy Spirit, and when you are walking in peace, you are walking in power. A peacemaker is not merely someone who protests against war; he is one who is inwardly so yielded to Christ in spirit and purpose that he can be called a son of God (Matt. 5:9). Where he goes, God goes and where God goes, he goes. He is fearless, calm and bold. Peace emanates from him the way light and heat radiate from fire.
In the battles of life, your peace is actually a weapon. Indeed, your confidence declares that you are not falling for the lies of the devil. You see, the first step toward having spiritual authority over the adversary is having peace in spite of our circumstances. When Jesus confronted the devil, He did not confront Satan with His emotions or in fear. Knowing that the devil was a liar, He simply refused to be influenced by any other voice than God’s. His peace overwhelmed Satan. His authority then shattered the lie, which sent demons fleeing.
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