STANDING YOUR GROUND by Gary Wilkerson

“When they heard this, the people in the synagogue [where Jesus had been speaking] were furious” (Luke 4:28, NLT).

Let’s take a moment to talk briefly about why the people here became so angry.

When Jesus stood up in the synagogue, He began to speak about Elijah. He said that in Elijah’s time the heavens were closed for three and a half years, during which time there was a famine. But Elijah came to only one woman and she was not an Israelite, she was a foreigner.

Then Jesus went on to use another example, the lepers in Israel. Elisha went to heal only one person, a man from Syria whose name was Naaman. After hearing Jesus relate that story, the people were so furious that they grabbed hold of Him and took Him outside the city.

“Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff” (Luke 4:29, NLT).

If you are a Christian but are not aware of this tactic of Satan, you need to be. He intends to try to push you over a cliff. He intends to take your finances and get you so distraught, so worried, so fearful that he almost flings you down onto the ground where you crash and burn.

If your marriage is stressful and you feel pressured there, the enemy is not content to just cause your union to be less than fruitful. He wants to get in and take you to the very edge, to the place where he can throw your marriage off to where it no longer exists.

The good news is that the edge of the cliff, falling off the cliff, is not the destiny of God’s people. You were called to the high ground. You were called to stand your ground in the holy place where God has you. You were called to stand and not be condemned by Satan. You are not to believe the lies of the enemy about your life.

Verse 29 says the people intended to push Him over the cliff, but look at what verse 30 says: “But he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.”