…you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face… – Jeremiah 34:3, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Like King Zedekiah, we often battle our Enemy in our own strength, and when we do, we lose. On the battlefield, once the dust is settled, we stand face to face and eye to eye with Satan, and he laughs us to scorn. We are bloodied, we are weary, and we are wounded to the depths of our souls because God, with all of His patience, simply got tired of warning us not to do what we wanted to do. So, He allowed us to have our own way, He stopped protecting us from Satan’s assaults, and we ended up utterly defeated.

Whether our sin sprung from lust, pride, or worry, we succombed to temptation because we desired something desperately, and we neither heeded God’s warnings to run away nor accepted His invitation to help us escape. While Satan is gloating over us, however, we can find rest in a comforting truth. Just as God promised to bring peace back into Zedekiah’s life after his defeat at Nebuchadnezzar’s hands, He wants to do the same for us after our defeat at Satan’s hands. The path to peace is simple: confess our sins, and God will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Once He cleanses us, our relationship with Him will be restored, and peace, no matter what our outward circumstances, will be ours.

When you find yourself being stared down by Satan, remember that you lost the battle because you fought the battle on your terms, not God’s. Ask God for His forgiveness, restore your relationship with Him, and, next time, fight the battle God’s way.

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