People who go off the spiritual rails and who get led astray, and those who even lose their faith are very possibly doing so because they have a completely inverted view of this world and a totally contrary view of God’s intentions and purposes in our lives. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve felt its lure myself: haven’t you?
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NOTHIN’ BUT TROUBLE! Didn’t Jesus say to his disciples, “In this world you will have trouble”? He followed this statement which we all attempt to bury in the lowest parts of our subconscious, with the phrase, “…but take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
We gladly accept Jesus saying that he had overcome the world, and our will to have an easy time of life from start to finish cancels out the first part of his sentence and decides to ignore it. Oh! we think… Jesus has overcome the world and therefore everything in my life will be roses and honey! I’m going to get all the toys I want and everyone is going to be nice to me! Now iff I can only get (XYZ) out of my life all will be well.
THE ARMOUR OF GOD Paul laid out a plan, telling us to prepare for battle. He described pieces of spiritual armour which we must all, as followers of Christ, clothe ourselves with the moment we wake up in the morning, and prefaced the list this way:
“… be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 10:6-18).
LIKE IT OR NOT As long as we’re in this world we, dear readers, are at war. Even if we don’t want to think that way, the world we live in is at war with us. I’ve read the memoirs of a man training for war in the quiet and beautiful countryside of southern England, while less than a hundred miles away Hitler’s Third Reich was slaughtering and smashing its way through Europe. He remarked on how difficult it was to believe that he was at war because everything was so peaceful. The birds were singing; little clouds were drifting harmlessly across a blue sky; butterflies wandered joyfully from flower to flower. Had men of steel not been standing up to their duty and their destiny, that very same countryside would have been echoing to the sound of jackboots in short order.
I’m not preaching paranoia, and I don’t want to be pessimistic: I want to be realistic and put all my optimism in the Lord. There is no “safe zone” in our world apart from the love and the faithfulness of God. In Nigeria hundreds of believers are being murdered and driven from their homes this very day. But far closer than that the war goes on, often insidiously yet sometimes with devastating consequences. Sin waits to claim our very own soul, were we to let it. The battle rages all around, far away, in our own cities, in our own streets, in our own homes and in our own hearts.
DON’T BE CURSED! I hate to have to say this, but no-one around us is fallible. If you think you’re surrounded or supported by perfect angels, look out! Here’s what God has to say on the matter:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man – who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord” (Jeramiah 17:5).
Humanity is corrupted. You cannot fully trust anyone – and I mean anyone. That includes the people in the pulpit, the people in government and media and the person in your mirror. What can we do? How can we escape this corruption and this darkness which is capable of creeping up behind us and stabbing us in the back? First and foremost, we have to include ourselves in the list of the corrupted, because “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We must work to love and forgive – that’s an essential part of our battle plan – but we must be clothed in our spiritual garb at all times. Why? because “… your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
OUR KING How can we escape the darkness? There is only one option. God is light and in Him is no darkness. If we lose ourselves in Him, and if we trust in him and don’t lean on our own understanding we can win – and win big. However, besides bringing fruitful and good consequences in our lives amid the troubles of life, the prize doesn’t come in this world, it comes in the next. Think of those poor people being killed for their faith in Nigeria and other countries today. On the face of things, they have lost their lives and they have been defeated physically. The lasting and eternal reality however is that they have gained an incredible eternal reward. Here’s another principle Jesus spoke of often, and which we choose to ignore because we want to believe it doesn’t apply to us:
“Whoever will lose his life for my sake will gain it” (Matthew 16:25).
If we invest ourselves in our Lord and entrust ourselves to him we can’t lose, even were the battle to lead to our physical passing from this world. We cannot lose! Ultimately there is no defeat in Christ but only victory! Let that sink in!
The church I was raised in would sing a song which has stuck in my mind over the years. The repeated refrain was this one:
“Ever is the war cry, “Victory! Victory”. ever is the war cry “Victory!”
Write it on the banners, waft it on the breeze: “Victory! Victory! Victory!”
Let’s go back to my opening verse. Here Jesus tells his disciples, after warning them that they would face trouble and persecution, that He had overcome the world. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. Our eternal home is in Him. Our rest, our peace, our joy…. our future is in Jesus Christ. As Paul wrote to the Romans, nothing, not even death itself, can separate us from the love of God. Therefore, let’s hang onto that promise. Let’s trust in God – our King – and look for that amazing day when we will be united with him in every way possible, in total and complete victory.
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 