You Can't But God can

I have realized something today, that, as a Christian, I always believed, but it opened up more to me today. That is, that that feeling of "what's the use?" and "why bother?" is just one of Satan's strategies to beat us down, as are multitudes of other tricks he has up his sleeve, to keep us down. Remember, the word reminds us that "...we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11). This was an exhortation to the church to forgive a brother who had committed sexual sin with his father's wife (1 Corinthians 5:1-5). Paul told them to "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit kmay be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (verse 5). My understanding of this is that they were to cast him out of the fellowship to experience some of the consequences of his sin, but then people were not forgiving him, it seems, and Paul was saying you must now, after the period of discipline was over, forgive him. "This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow, Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 6-11). I include all that in order to provide context. The verse about not being ignorant of Satan's devices may be applied to any number of situations, or, should I say, it is a principle we should all learn and observe. As I have said, I am not a scholar, but I know the Lord, and I have his Spirit. I have "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5), so nobody should ever think they can do anything in this world against the demonic or anything for the Kingdom of God without "the whole armor of God," as found in Ephesians 6, which I will not reproduce, but encourage you to review on your own. The main point is that we must remain dependent on God, not on ourselves, because our flesh will always rise up against the things of God and the spirit of God and the word of God. We are not to submit to our own selfish ways but to "mortify" them, or put them down, or overrule them in the power of God's spirit that He put within us at salvation. In case you haven't noticed, the battle is heating up, and we can no longer compromise with the world and what it thinks we should be like or do or say or how we should speak or not speak or behave. I have a relative who is punishing me for my "behavior," as we speak, but I have one Master, and his name is Jesus Christ, the Lord. I take orders from him. I do not succumb to feelings of inferiority or worthlessness or failure because the unregenerate population of the world thinks I'm offensive. As long as I am living in obedience to God's word, I am not condemned, and I am living in eternal life, and I only want to do what Christ wants me to do. And that is all that matters in this life. Going to another worship and prayer meeting tonight. Later, friends.