The clothes you put on this morning are not casual dress - they are battle armor. Brace yourself for war today, and don't consider defeat as an option.

Valentin Grimaldo was walking with his brother along U.S. Highway 281 near Encino, Texas, when he reached over into some tall grass. As soon as his hand plunged into the weeds, the fangs of a deadly coral snake bit into his flesh. Lethal venom with the power to take his life quickly flowed into his body.

Quick thinking and decisive, gritty action saved his life. A spokesperson for the hospital where Mr. Grimaldo was treated said, "He grabbed the snake and bit its head off. He skinned it and used the skin as a tourniquet to keep the venom from spreading." A passerby who saw the frantic brothers stopped, put them into his car, and drove them to the hospital's emergency room. Valentin's brother kept the snake's head as a souvenir of the harrowing adventure the two men shared.

The story reminds me of a phenomenon that plays itself out time and time again: Something Satan intended to destroy a believer winds up being turned back on itself (and the devil!) and becomes a means of deliverance.

? A business failure and bankruptcy were going to destroy a man, tear his family apart, and drive him to suicide. Now he's a financial counselor who teaches others to be prudent and responsible with money.

? Childhood abuse and heavy drug use in college had destined a woman for a path of despair that would have her destroying others as well as herself. She works with kids at a rehab center today - as part of her own recovery.

? Criminal activity, humiliation, and jail were supposed to make a young man bitter, angry, and incorrigible. He is out of prison now, working hard, and making a living for his family. He has started a prison ministry at his church.
God works with people who are willing to take decisive action against the devil's devices, not only to deliver them from his clutches but to empower those persons to use what they have learned to help others. The decisive action is called repentance; the empowerment comes via the Holy Spirit. It is God's doing.

Whatever is threatening you today, whatever joy-killer or spiritual enemy has been sent against you, God can get you out of its grasp, turn its venom back on itself, and show you how to use what you've learned to bless others.

Don't lie down beside the road and die. Be decisive. Trust His grace.

Where has the devil been striking at you? Are you just going to sit there, or stand your ground?


"Stand for what you believe. It's better to be hated for who you are than loved for who you're not"
VanZandt