Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Confused (05/21/26)
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TITLE: The Source Of My Confusion | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
05/23/26 -
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Having the answers and solutions on hand BEFORE there is the need, can go a long way in avoiding what will otherwise be an overwhelmingly confusing situation.
God allows us to get in over our heads to remind us of the need to be prepared before the next storm of life strikes.
One prepares himself by developing the mind of Christ through the daily intake and ongoing application of the Word of God.
Having the right answers will not do one much good if they are not applied (1) when the opportunity presents itself.
Whatever God sends, allows, and or does not remove is for us to endure until it accomplishes the divine objective that God has in mind.
Three times, the Apostle Paul pleaded with God to remove a “tormenting thorn in his side.” but the answer was NO (2). David pleaded for God to spare the life of his innocent, infant son, but the answer was NO. (3). Jesus prayed, that if God the Father was willing, that He would “take the cup (cross)” from Him, but the answer was NO (4).
It’s easy to stick with the plan of God, as long as things are going our way.
It is when God sends or allows things to take place that are beyond our human ability to understand why, that the level of our faith is revealed.
It takes relatively little faith to be born-again, but much faith to live the life of a post salvation disciple.
Trainers of military and public safety personnel can tell you that when individuals suddenly find themselves in high-stress situations, that more times than not, they will respond in the way that they were trained to do.
Primarily through the adversity that God sends or allows to take place, He trains His disciples to apply the Word of God, preparing them for even greater adversity to come.
He can only use His best trained and experienced soldiers to accomplish the most challenging missions.
Advancing disciples, when suddenly finding themselves in the midst of spiritual combat, will more times than not, respond in accordance with the 2Pet. 3: 18 knowledge and experience that they have received.
Having the “mind of Christ” does not mean that we have the omniscience (full knowledge of all past, present, and future events) that God has, but it does mean that we can learn to see things as He sees them, and to apply the appropriate Biblical principles and solutions.
Science defines confusion as an altered state of mind, and offers several different explanations for its cause.
Generating confusion is often the strategy that the devil will use to pressure an advancing disciple to set aside the mind of Christ, and then replace it with an alternative mind set (way of thinking) to address the present challenge or adversity.
Such "alternatives” include human effort, human rationalization, and “religious” (but unscriptural) traditions of men.
This satanic confusion can come to us through many different sources.
Satan’s most dangerous, and therefore the most effective sources, are the ones that we normally would consider to be a trusted source of guidance, such as a parent or clergy.
Such sources do what they do with the best of intentions, but if after having been deceived themselves, can unwittingly become the blind leading the blind (5).
Other sources, such as the serpent that deceived the woman, are a part of Satan’s plan of destruction (6) from the get go.
Be it from a source with good, but misguided intentions, or an evil source with malicious intent, they BOTH have one trait in common, and that is they BOTH promote inconsistency with what God has to say.
The only way to avoid confusion, or to deal with it when feeling overwhelmed by it, is to trace it back to its point of origin, and determine what God has to say about the issue at hand and how to deal with it.
When what comes our way rattles our faith and confidence, learn to see such things as an opportunity to conduct a Biblically-based, 2Cor. 13:5 self-examination, as this will either confirm what we thought we had gotten right, or the need to make some adjustments in our edified soul structure, as we continue to grow in His grace and knowledge (7).
(1) James 1: 22 (2) 2Cor. 12: 8 (3) 2Sam 12: 16 4) Luke 22: 42 ( 5) Matt. 15: 14 (6) 1Pet. 5: 8 (7) 2Pet. 3: 18
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