Turn Accusations into Affirmations

Have you ever heard of an accused personality? Well I have one. Sometimes I feel as though I’m like the young Sir Henry Baskerville, of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of Baskerville,”  who believed he was cursed. He was constantly haunted at night by the hound whose terrifying howl mystically rose from the nearby moor constantly shrouded by an ominous fog. The curse. The curse. It comes for me!

This type of accursed thinking even leaked into my  spiritual perceptions. Whenever I thought of Peter’s denial of Jesus, I assumed that he must have felt the same as me.

I couldn’t imagine hearing a rooster crow every morning reminding me that I’m a scumbag, worm or slug, the very thing that I want to forget.

I always imagined Peter begrudgingly carrying on every day with the weight of his denial firmly resting on his shoulders. What strength he had! What determination!

If I could just carry on like he did and make it through this dismal existence of life I might also just make it to heaven. I just might even find some kind of happiness in my own determination even though sometimes I wished my life would end. Sometimes I even contemplated suicide.

I have heard some preachers teaching how horrible it must have been for Peter to hear a rooster crow every single morning. What a burden I imagined. He couldn’t escape from it because he lived in an agrarian society. Therefore in my mind he must have been tormented every single day.

Great news!

I have recently discovered and perceived a different, more positive and encouraging perspective.

One day as I was out for one of my early morning walks I had the pleasure of hearing a rooster crow. At that moment, probably because I was praying, I praised God and thanked Him for the rooster. I marveled at how He had fashioned it into the morning herald announcing every new day when the faintest sliver of light breaks through the darkness .

“Errrt-uh-errr-uh-errrrrrrrr!”

I wondered how the rooster got ready to crow. Did the he awake several hours early, or was he up half the night waiting for the crack of dawn or maybe he woke just before dawn? I didn’t know and I really wasn’t concerned to deeply at the moment for I was praising God and thanking Him for His  love for me, and all of mankind too. While marveling at his creation I also couldn’t help to think about of Peter’s denial. I knew Satan attacking him soon and often after that.

After all didn’t Jesus warn Peter earlier, “Satan has requested to sift you like wheat.”

I wondered just how could Peter have ever stay faithful when faced that accusation every morning.

“You denied Jesus! You unworthy scum bucket. God’s really upset with you. You’ve gone too far this time.” Satan bellows!

Wow! Accusations like that would weigh me down like a lead sinker in a bottomless pool. How did Peter keep going?

At that very moment, and probably because I was praising God for the rooster, I had an epiphany. I realized that whenever Peter heard the rooster crow, he didn’t focus on his denial, but rather he must have focused on Christ’s incredible love!  Had Peter always focused on his denial he would have become ineffective and unproductive against his advice own advice and probably even fall away. The torment of hearing the rooster’s daily accusation would have been to great for him.

That’s exactly what happened to me!  My mistakes draw my attention to them instead of to Christ. Everyday I was on the verge of giving up because I wasn’t being like Peter and focusing on Jesus’ love.

When I was baptized, I died with Christ, I as buried with him and I was raised with him! I was never going to sin again, or so, I thought.

Amazingly I went about a year and half or two before I purposely sinned. I’m sure now that I had committed sin back then, but I wasn’t aware it. Anyway the fateful day did come when I purposely chose to sin and it nearly ruined me.

I actually fell away for a several years. There was no way that God would want me anymore. How could he? After all that he did for me. I spurned him, I chose momentary pleasure over him. Just as I became a new creation in Christ earlier this day too I had been changed.  But now I became the old creation again. At least in my mind. I had ruined myself and become unacceptable and useless to God. 

Those were ideas that Satan was telling me and I was letting him get away with it.

But on that morning and that walk I had the epiphany in God’s timing that taught me the same lesson that Peter had learned. Albeit he was fast learner.

So now instead of the rooster being a torment it became a blessing. The curse became a triumph and just as Christ became a curse to triumph over Satan and now in a similar way he also letting us share in that victory too!

Once Peter learned the lesson the rooster crowing became a much anticipated moment everyday. He wanted, no he needed to hear the rooster crow! Because on hearing it he was reminded of CHRIST’S LOVE and he KNEW exactly how much CHRIST LOVED him. The crowing had become an AFFIRMATION of Jesus love instead of an ACCUSATION from Satan.

Wow. Isn’t God great!

Now that I also had the epiphany I made up my mind right then to turn my heart wholly to Christ and to be like Peter and walk with God like he did.

I don’t focus on my failures anymore; rather, I focus on Jesus and his love. When I do sin I look across the proverbial fire, I see the guards, to servant girl, but most of all I see Jesus. I look into Jesus eyes and know that he still loves me even amidst my failure. He never lets me down, He never gives up, He always hopes and he always loves. His love for me covers a multitude of sins.

So hopefully this has been an epiphany for you too!

From now on, whenever you are accused by Satan about anything, remember that Jesus knew it would happen since the beginning of time, and even predicted it in the same way that he predicted Peter’s denial. Because we all sin and all sin is denial. Jesus knew at the dawn of creation that you and I were going to sin. Yet while we were still sinners Christ died for us!

You are forgiven. Rejoice and be glad in it!

Therefore, whenever you’re feeling accused, imagine that you’re standing in Peter’s shoes. You’re iin the Chief priest’s court-yard by the fire warming yourself . You just denied Christ , the rooster crows and then you look directly across into Jesus’ eyes. You see no disdain, no hate only bloodied eyes full of love looking intently back at you.

As only eyes can do they say, “I’m taking this punishment that you deserve upon myself to destroy what separates us so that we can have fellowship forever with one another.”

No accusation, no disappointment only a deep seated concern and love for your well-being even as he’s being hauled away to His death. Wow. Know that he loves you!

Now that you have this knowledge you can now arm yourself against Satan and his schemes and the powers of darkness in this world. From this point forward you know how turn all of Satan’s accusations into affirmations of Jesus love!

If you practice looking to Jesus every time you fail and see his love, which brings you to repentance, you’ll make an amazing discovery. You’ll soon realize, in short time, that Satan’s accusations will diminish, because he’ll soon realize that his accusations against you are only building you up instead of breaking you down. Believe me, that is the last thing that he wants to do! Let him be defeated not you!

What we learned also teaches us another affirmation. God’s is true to his word and can always be trusted. God turned Satan’s intention for bad into good.

“God works all things together for the good, for those who love him, and for those who are called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28.

He turns Satan’s accusations against Satan to strengthen you.

God is always true and faithful! Amen.

Now go put this lesson into practice. TURN Satan’s ACCUSATIONS into AFFIRMATIONS. Then others will watch and see you as you grow and become more like Christ each day! Isn’t that what God wants?

Praise God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!

If you found this article helpful and/or that it may be helpful to others please take a moment share.