More on discerning what Jesus wants versus what Satan wants us to  do.

The devil is clever and does not want us thinking about his desires; he wants us to unknowingly mix our personal and cultural bias in with a bit of Scripture and do things that make us feel good.

It is easy to fool ourselves into thinking that our preferences as Christians are the same as God’s. For instance, in our culture we have come to confuse busyness with being spiritual, having results with being blessed, and talent and training with being spiritually mature. When faced with an opportunity for more ministry, we need to think about what Jesus would do, and what Satan would have us do.

Satan is happy when we are striving to push ahead in our own effort, keeping very busy “for the Lord”, wearing ourselves out for others. He is not happy when we spend time first in prayer and in the Word, seeking God’s direction, weighing our motives before Him, waiting for His timing–and then working hard as He directs.

As a concrete example of this concept, here in the Middle East we have often had opportunities to help believers financially. “Of course Jesus would have us give to them!” we thought. Yet as we look back now, it is clear how in the early years of ministry, channeling funds to seemingly desperate needs produced far more bitter and unhealthily dependent relationships than anything else. Our help was toxic, not a tonic.

We have to admit that our estimation of what Jesus wanted was not fully correct. Yes, it made us feel good to help and we got the believers out of binds, but also often prevented them from learning the lessons God had for them.

Later, when God had gotten our attention and made clear that we should step back from such rescuing attempts and let Him teach important lessons of character, believers matured and grew in new ways. There are times to help, but wisely, in cooperation with God, not with Satan’s feel-good solutions.

To discern is an important skill that comes only from spending time with Jesus in His Word, in worship, wanting  His will rather than our own or culture’s will.