Treading

Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all 
the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 

	So, did you ever have the opportunity to wield this power to walk around on 
snakes and scorpions? It seems like one of those nice things to have in your arsenal, but it 
also seems like the kind of thing that might not get all that much use. I know I really 
wouldn't mind, anyway, if I made it all the way to that last breath without ever having to 
deal with one of those nasty things under my feet. I wonder, though, if this reference to 
walking or going through life might have a more broad sense so that I might identify with 
this power and put it to some more frequent use? 
	While there may not be a poisonous creature waiting to sting us in the path we 
will take today, there are a great many things that have the ability to hurt us in one way or 
another. Like the serpent or scorpion, they aren't necessarily sent by our enemy, and they 
aren't operating under his direction, they're just things that are a part of life, responding in 
the way they were designed. Almost every day includes a word spoken by someone that 
carries venom of potential damage. There are things that will be seen with our eyes that 
carry a very dangerous ability to inflict damage on our souls. There is an accident that we 
may have, either on the road, in the home, or at the job that, although unintentional, could 
bring physical, material, or emotional damage. John 16:33 says that the world is full of 
difficulties, and it doesn't say that we get this force shield that causes us to just sort of 
hover above all the problems, totally untouched by them altogether. 
	There are many things that will strike us as we walk that are part of this world and 
not necessarily personally designed for our destruction. There is, however, an enemy of 
our souls who is waiting to use whatever means available to make headway towards his 
ultimate destination, our hearts. As we are hit with a difficulty of life, he immediately 
uses its penetration to make his entrance and begin inflicting the greatest amount of 
damage possible from it. Though there is hurt that may come from the initial blow, it is 
nothing compared to what the enemy can make of it if he is able to begin using it to his 
advantage. In this passage from Luke 10:19, I believe it is saying that we have been given 
power over both the dangerous things that await us in life, and also the attack of the 
enemy that will attempt to use those things for our demise. We don't have to let life's 
challenges become weapons of destruction in the hand of the enemy. The power has been 
given to us in the name of Jesus and the peace that overwhelms us in His presence.  
	As this day takes us over dangerous places where we have to set our feet in order 
to move on, there is this incredible power we've been given that will keep us from being 
hurt in any of it. That dangerous word, though spoken and arriving at our ears, will have 
no access to our hearts, if we are truly rooted and grounded in the love of Jesus that takes 
no notice of a suffered wrong. That image that would cause us to lust, desiring to attain 
something for which we have no right, will have no further residence if our eyes have 
become fixed on our Eternal Possession. That accident we may have, a broken plate, a 
dented fender, a lost key, will not alter our self image or confidence, if we have identified 
with Christ and found our confidence to be in Him. Instead of wilting under the challenge 
of life, seeing it as an overwhelming attack of the enemy, we can, instead, see that it is at 
this very moment that the enemy wants to make his entrance and begin his long lasting 
destruction. It is at this moment that we are given power over Him and can be of good 
cheer, because our Hero has overcome not only the challenges, but also the one that 
would make those challenges a deadly influence in our life. Yes, in all these things we 
will more than just overcome the challenge, but we will defeat the enemy that would use 
them against us. We are more than overcomers. 


2/21/06