“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
“He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
“The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
Meet Ben Holiday, the king of the magical kingdom of Landover. Upon King Holiday’s appointment, he was entrusted with a Medallion which is the symbol of his office. On it is an engraved image of a mighty Paladin charging on his warhorse against the backdrop of the king’s palace – Sterling Silver. No one can gain possession of this Medallion and thus lay claim over Landover and all the king’s subjects unless King Holiday removes it on his own accord.
One night, King Holiday was forced to step down from his lordship by a powerful, evil wizard named Meeks. Meeks was exiled from Landover because of his dangerous thirst for power and he had always been eyeing the possession of Landover for his personal gains. He stole into Sterling Silver and cast a spell on King Holiday that altered his appearance so that nobody could recognize him as king. Ben Holiday also believed that the royal medallion was no long with him as its image was replaced by the sinister image of Meeks. Meeks then threatened that if Holiday removed the false Medallion, his magic will kill him right away.
After being kicked out of Sterling Silver by his personal guards, Ben Holiday embarked on a quest with an undeterred will to regain his lordship and abolish the devious plans of Meeks. During his journey, he met a faerie creature who helped him to realize that Meeks had merely used a spell that tarnished his perception of his royal Medallion which had been around his neck all the time. With deliberate effort, Holiday focused on believing that it was his royal medallion and not the image of evil, and he miraculously recovered his identity, had a showdown with the evil wizard, rose triumphant, and resumed his reign in Landover.
That was just a gist of “The Black Unicorn”, written by Terry Brooks. As I read the book, I couldn’t help but wonder how similar the evil wizard Meeks was to Satan. Satan hates everything good that God creates. He seeks to destroy goodness. If he can’t destroy it, he’ll distort it. If he can’t distort it, he’ll suppress it so that the bearer will doubt that he has goodness. Satan hates humans, especially when God had created them to reign with Him like kings and be like His medallion which He wants to show to the world.
Boiling with jealousy and hatred, Satan lashes out with his lies to tarnish the image that God had created us to be.
“Friend? You call yourself a friend? Look at what you did to him the other time!”
“You filthy pig, there’s nothing good in you. You’re worthless!”
“You can’t do well in anything, loser…”
“You’ll never have what you want, you filthy pile of excrement. You’ll never have it all!”
“What king is there in you? You’re a servant! A slave wallowing in his own muck!”
When we buy into such lies, my friend, we lose our hearts to darkness. Just thinking about such lies for the briefest moment puts us at the edge of darkness. God never intends for us to live this way. He wants us to believe in the good that He had placed in us. To do otherwise would be like a form of mockery against His work of creation in us. For Spirit-filled Christians, they should at least trust and believe that the Spirit of God who dwells in them makes them good, strong enough to conquer, and gentle to love.
While we judge by what we think of ourselves, God on the other hand sees not as man sees, but He looks at our hearts. He reminds us not to belittle or despise ourselves. He reminds you that you are fully forgiven, for He had said, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” (Hebrews 10:17.) When you feel that you are weak and incompetent, His Holy Spirit will say to your heart, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13.) When you feel helpless about yourself, turn to God – the source of hope – and trust in Him, and He will fill you with joy and peace. (Romans 15:13.)
We do ourselves a great disfavor by denying God’s goodness in our souls. But just seeing and believing the existence of goodness is not enough; we must do. We must muster our faith and initiative to step up to God’s calling and exercise our God-given qualities in day-to-day living. Speak no more of gloom and doom. Speak no more of our weaknesses. Speak no more of how bad we think of ourselves. We are molded in God’s image. So live like one born out of His divine workmanship!
June 25th, 2010 by 
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