“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” — Matthew 3:16-17
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At the end of Matthew 3 (above), Jesus gets a glowing affirmation from the Father, confirming both His identity and worth. He comes out of the baptismal waters empowered and encouraged, ready to start the work ahead. But first, He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There, He moves from the confidence of affirmation from God to the badgering and questioning from the enemy.
Isn’t that how the enemy works? He shows up and starts talking nonsense. He makes you question what you heard last, and sometimes what God said first. He sets you up to make you think God needs you to perform and then He will love and acknowledge you.
Listen: God gives you validation without performance, but the enemy wants you to perform before you can be validated. This has been his trick from the beginning to make you abandon the truth and walk in a lie. We have to be as bold and as confident as Jesus when the enemy shows up. Stand up against the attack, speak truth over lies, and command the enemy to go.
Don’t believe the lie. You are who God says you are! His validation came before you scored a goal, before you ever made a play, before you did anything of significance. Stop letting the enemy tell you something different.
— Fleceia Comeaux, Houston Dash chaplain
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