The current devotion is written by Dianna Hobbs, founder of EEW Magazine, as part of her 28 Days of Gratitude blog series. Get more inspiration on her Daily Cup of Inspiration blog.

Scripture of the Day: “But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.” (Acts 6:1 NLT)

In the early church, the Holy Spirit was moving powerfully. Souls were being saved. The apostles were working miracles, and thousands were being added to the church daily (Acts 2:41). It was an exciting time to be a believer and a great season of expansion for the church!

Before this controversy arose, Scripture said, everybody was unified, and they shared everything (Acts 4:32). The love was flowing, and all was beautiful. Unfortunately, something went wrong along the way, and some of the church members weren’t getting along so well anymore.

On one side, you had the Hebrew-speaking Jews from Judea that were more orthodox and embraced Jewish culture. On the other side, you had the Greek-speaking Jews from all over the Roman Empire—also known as Hellenists—that likely embraced Greek culture. The Hellenists felt like the orthodox Jewish widows were getting preferential treatment, and Satan used this offense to stir up division between the two groups within the food program.

This turned out to be a huge distraction to the apostles who were concerned with prayer and preaching the gospel (v. 2). So they appointed seven Spirit-filled men to oversee food distribution. That way, they could get back to what mattered most.

EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION

Don’t you know that emotional manipulation is one of Satan’s favorite weapons to use against you to get you off track? He specializes in using offense and hurt feelings to make you complain and draw attention away from important things. Often, the enemy will point out how others are mistreating or overlooking you. He’ll even accuse God of neglecting you and failing to bless you.

This is the way Satan manipulates your emotions. He shows you everything that’s wrong, and he hopes you will be angry, bitter, sad, depressed, discouraged, and distracted. If he can get you in a funk, you are less likely to be thankful and more likely to complain.

While it is true that injustices exist in the world, and things are not always fair, do you find yourself complaining about those things instead of praising God for taking care of you despite obstacles?

In less than ideal situations, do you still look to God, and express appreciation for His love, for what He has done in the past, what He is doing now, and what He will do in the future? Or is your attention drawn to what you don’t like, what doesn’t seem right, and what bothers you?

Featured

You Cannot Know The Mind Of God: Just tust Him through everything

Think of God's Goodness: One of the best ways to strengthen your faith is to stroll down memory lane

Although you can't see it, God is working sis

It won't always be like this: You will turn a corner

Podcast: What does the word of God say?

SATAN THE ACCUSER

I’d like to point out that in Acts 6:1-7, where this incident is featured, nowhere does it say that the oversight in the food program was actually deliberate or discriminatory. It could have been the case that the rapid growth of the congregation made it hard to supervise everyone, and the issue was disorganization and not discrimination.

Who’s to say?

Revelation 12:9-10 tells us that Satan is a “deceiver” and an “accuser of our brethren,” so he is always making false accusations. This strategy can be very effective in the life of a constant complainer, since they already tend to see the negative side of things. But it won’t work as well on a praiser, because they are consistently on the lookout for reasons to be thankful.

Satan the accuser: “God didn’t answer that prayer.”

The complainer: “You’re right. He never hears or answers me!”

The praiser: “I bless the Lord for all He has already done, and I believe He will do this too. But even if He doesn’t do it, I know He’s able.”

Satan the accuser: “That person over there isn’t treating you right.”

The complainer: “I always get mistreated, and it’s not fair.”

The praiser: “What God has for me is for me, and I thank Him that His favor goes before me, even in a hostile environment.”

See the difference?

A praiser is not manipulated by Satan the accuser. The praiser sees the same set of circumstances as the complainer, but their perspective is different. Even when they are done wrong, the praiser will whip out Psalm 41:11, which says, “By this I know that you favor me, because my enemy does not triumph over me,” and they will be grateful for favor while they are under attack.

HOW YOU SEE MATTERS

When I was first introduced to optical illusions as a child, I was fascinated. I learned that something can actually deceive the eye by appearing to be something other than what it is. In life, what you see is not as important as how you see.

If you look at the world through the lens of gratefulness, you will see beauty and blessings all around you. Conversely, if you look at the world through the lens of ingratitude, you will see ugliness and injustices all around you, and Satan the accuser will manipulate you.

Don’t let him do that. Adjust your lenses. And if you’re wondering exactly how to make that adjustment, Philippians 4:8 NLT gives the answer: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT

In your journal today, write down:

One way God gave you favor through a person who helped you in some way.
A blessing God gave you that you didn’t earn.
An opportunity God gave you that you didn’t expect.
One way God has blessed you today.
A negative environment where you got a positive result anyway.

Now, let’s pray.

God, there are many opportunities in my daily life to be offended, aggravated, and bothered by something that doesn’t seem right. Instead of focusing on that, I desire to meditate on Your goodness, mercy, and favor towards me. Please help me to view the world through a lens of gratitude, because whatever the circumstances, You are always good and faithful, and You are worthy of my praise. In Jesus’ name, Amen.