December 24

Over Jordan with Singing

Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is the shield that protects you, the sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places. — Deut 33:29 BSB

The devil, our great enemy, has been a liar from the start, but he’s so convincing that we, like Eve, are often tempted to believe him. Yet, through our experience, we will see that he is indeed a liar.

He tells us that we will fall away from grace, disgrace our faith, and perish like those who abandon the faith. But, by trusting in Jesus, we will hold fast to our course and prove that Jesus loses none whom the Father has given Him. The devil says we will run out of provision and starve, but the One who feeds the ravens has never forgotten us, and He never will. He will set a table for us, even in the presence of our enemies.

The devil whispers that the Lord will not deliver us from the trial that’s just ahead and that we will not be able to bear it. But what a liar he is! The Lord will never leave us or forsake us. “Let Him rescue him now,” the devil taunts, but the Lord will silence him by coming to our aid.

He loves to tell us that death will defeat us. “How will you manage when death comes?” he asks. But even then, the devil will be proven a liar, and we will cross the river singing songs of victory.