“No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” John 8:11
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
Only the Word of life and the illumination of the Holy Spirit can dispel the misty haze that the devil seeks to imprison us in. It’s only through taking the Bible’s truths through a personal and indomitable faith that Christ-lovers can rise above the wiles and the low blows of the devil.
The devil is an accuser, and Oxford Languages defines an accuser as “a person who claims that someone has committed an offense or done something wrong”. Notice how this definition says “claims”. Oxford Languages defines claims as to “state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof”. Note this: WITHOUT EVIDENCE or PROOF.
The devil, acting as accuser, thrives in a gray area. What I mean here is that place where one’s spirit is working out if there is culpability regarding a situation at hand. (Think Philippians 2:12) Those times when a blood-bought person prays and ponders and seeks wisdom because his or her emotions are tumultuous, and the unsettled heart-space is either experiencing a conviction from the Holy Spirit or a condemnation from the devil.
This internal struggle can escalate when something feels off whether it be prayer, Bible reading, or even external stressors. The process of differentiating between holy conviction or deadly accusation can turn to broody rumination, which is strong overthinking, and it can sap us of joy and energy and even patience, kindness, and compassion.
I am seeing clearer of late that I was in a state of harmful rumination. God the Father, Jesus our resurrected sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit do not contradict the finished work of the cross. The devil does that. Jesus bore all sins and shame once and for all upon the cross. His payment was enough to cover and true believer for all times. That payment is not a license to go and sin freely, but an encouragement that when sin does enter in our despair over it shan’t crush us because His perfect blood paid for those shortcomings too. Once covered by the blood of Jesus, always able to live freely in the Father’s sweet forgiveness.
Because as humans we complicate things, the timeline to process emotions or choices might linger on, thus the devil plays the role of the great accuser. Reading a devotional by Max Lucado called “The Verdict” helped me see again God’s view of any shortcomings as opposed to the great accuser’s smoke and mirrors. Here are Lucado’s words, and may any reader today peering through the mist of evil’s claims without proof be set free and walk in the light of truth. We are children of the light.
“If you have ever wondered how God reacts when you fail, frame the words of that verse [John 8:11] and hang them on the wall. Read them. Ponder them. Or better still, take Him with you to your canyon of shame. Invite Christ to your journey with you to stand beside you as you retell the events of the darkest nights of your soul. And then listen. Listen carefully. He’s speaking. “I don’t Judge you Guilty.” And watch. Watch carefully. He’s writing. He’s leaving a message. Not in the sand, but on a cross. Not with His hands, but with His blood. His message has two words: Not guilty.”
Mark tells of the many crowds that pressed in to get close and personal with Jesus. The ones that stayed at a distance didn’t find the deliverance that the people in Jesus’ proximity did. To see Jesus’ love and desire to heal us, deliver us or free us, we must press in. Jesus already sees our plight, as He is our advocate. Oh, how He longs to hear us speak of the weights upon us so that He can remind us, My yoke is easy, and I will carry your load if only you will relinquish it to Me.
