Part 2 (2/2)
The first time I thought of that fact, it was discouraging, until I realized the wisdom of G.o.d. After the Jews left Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, G.o.d spoke to them before they went into the Promised Land. It was a special land-fertile, beautiful, and promised to them. But in the more than 400 years since Jacob and his sons had left the land, others had moved in and occupied land that didn't belong to them.
For the children of Israel, it wasn't merely a matter of going in and settling down. They had to fight for every foot of ground-even though it was their inheritance.
That's how the spiritual principle works on every level. G.o.d has the blessings out there waiting for us, but it's up to us to go in and take the land. Just as it was for the Jews of old, it is a battle.
In the verse at the beginning of this chapter, G.o.d spoke of the beasts of the field. There were many wild animals in the land, and it could have been dangerous. But what if we thought of the beasts as pride? What if G.o.d suddenly gave us full, complete victory, and we never struggled again; how would that affect us? Surely pride would creep in.
Our att.i.tude then would be to look down on others who have not been as victorious as we have been. We may not express our condescension in words, but won't those we disdain sense that we think we're superior? And, truthfully, wouldn't we feel superior. We've made it; those poor souls are still struggling.
G.o.d has a wonderful plan for each of us, but it never comes with just one major victory, so that we never struggle again. Instead, it's an ongoing warfare, and we must remain vigilant and be aware of the attacks of the enemy.
Another aspect is that because we move ahead little by little, it makes us savor every victory. Each time we overcome or destroy one of Satan's strongholds, we rejoice. We can remain in a constant state of thanksgiving. If we've had only one victory, and that was thirty years ago, how dull our lives would be. Or worse yet, how easy it would be for us to take G.o.d for granted. Isn't it better to serve a G.o.d who takes us slowly forward, always showing us the way, always encouraging us? We always have new horizons to reach for, and that makes our journey with G.o.d exciting!
G.o.d, please forgive me for wanting all the victory right now. Help me realize that as I struggle and call on You, I see Your wonderful, loving, and caring hand taking me forward-little by little. For that, I'm so grateful. Amen.
15.
First the Suffering And after you have suffered a little while, the G.o.d of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.
-1 PETER 5:10 ”Why do we have to suffer?” ”If G.o.d truly loves us, why do all the bad things happen to us?” I hear such questions often. For thousands of years, people smarter than I am have wrestled with those questions, and they still haven't discovered the answers. I don't even try to answer the questions. I do make one comment, however: ”If G.o.d only blessed us after we became believers-if He took away all suffering, hards.h.i.+p, and turmoil for Christians-wouldn't it be a way to bribe people into the faith?”
That's not the way G.o.d works. The Lord wants us to come to Him out of love and because we know we're needy-so needy that only He can fill those needs for us.
The reality is that from the time of birth until we go home to be with Jesus, we will suffer at times. Some have harder tasks than others, but suffering is still suffering.
I also think that when people watch us as we turn to G.o.d for help in our hards.h.i.+ps and they see our victories, it provides a witness to them. That witness may not always make them turn to Christ, but it does show G.o.d's presence in our lives and makes them aware of what they're missing.
Yes, we will suffer. The other day I had a new thought: Suffering results in thanksgiving. When our lives turn chaotic and we don't know what to do, we turn to the Lord for help, and He answers our prayers and sets us free. G.o.d speaks to us and comforts us. And the result is that we're thankful.
The time between suffering and thanksgiving is when the devil truly attacks our thoughts. He may begin by saying, ”If G.o.d really loved you, you would not have to go through this.” It's a subtle way of saying to us that serving G.o.d is useless. The truth is, we'll have problems if we're believers; we'll have problems if we're nonbelievers. But as believers, we'll also have victories. As believers in Jesus Christ, we can have peace in the midst of the storm. We can enjoy our lives during the hards.h.i.+ps because we truly believe that G.o.d is working on our behalf to bring deliverance.
The next attack of Satan is to whisper, ”It's not going to get better. You have served G.o.d for nothing. See, this is what happens when you really need help and trust G.o.d. He doesn't care about you. If He truly cared, why would He allow you to suffer?”
This is where we have to stand firm. We can take courage from the story of Job. Few of us have suffered as he did-he lost his children, his possessions, and his health. His critics accused him of hypocrisy and deception. Because we know how Satan works, we realize that his so-called friends were tools of Satan. I'm sure they didn't realize they were being used by the devil to discourage Job. But just because they weren't aware, doesn't mean Satan didn't use them.
However, Job, a G.o.dly man, refused to listen. He said, ”[. . . though He slay me, yet will I wait for and trust Him . . .]” (Job 13:15). He refused to allow Satan to attack his mind and make him question G.o.d. He didn't understand what G.o.d had done. There's no indication that Job ever understood. But one thing he knew, G.o.d was with him and he never doubted the love and presence of G.o.d.
That's the att.i.tude we want-that calm a.s.surance of G.o.d's love that says, ”Though He slay me, yet will I wait for and trust Him.” We don't have to understand or explain. In fact, I've heard it said this way, ”Obedience is required; understanding is optional.”
Finally, if we suffer, it just may be a powerful reminder that we are walking the same paths as some of G.o.d's greatest saints. Even in Peter's time, they suffered. In their case, it was Roman persecution; in our case, it may be people who don't understand us, or family members who turn against us. Regardless, suffering can and should end in thanksgiving.
My Master and my G.o.d, forgive me for always wanting the easy life. I admit that I don't want to suffer, and I don't like it when things go wrong. But I ask You to help me have a good att.i.tude and to trust You to bring good out of it. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
16.
No Condemnation Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.
-ROMANS 8:1 ”I should have known better,” Cindy cried out to me. ”All the signs were there that he wasn't the man for me.” She had gone through two years of a painful marriage, of verbal and finally physical abuse. Then her husband left her for another woman. Now she felt doubly condemned-condemned for marrying him in the first place and condemned that she couldn't hold the marriage together.
”If I had been a good Christian, I could have changed him,” she moaned.
I could have confronted her and said, ”Yes, you did see the signs and you ignored them. You opened yourself up to this kind of treatment.” I didn't say those words and wouldn't. They would not have helped Cindy.
What she needed right then was for me to stretch out my hand and comfort her. She was so self-condemned that she finally asked, ”Will G.o.d forgive me?”
At first, her words disturbed me. The Bible is clear that G.o.d forgives any sin. Cindy knew the Bible, so her question wasn't due to a lack of knowledge; it was due to a lack of faith in a loving, caring G.o.d. She felt so dejected, and she didn't know if G.o.d loved her enough to forgive her.
I a.s.sured Cindy of G.o.d's forgiveness, but that wasn't the real issue that troubled her. Satan had whispered in her mind for such a long time that she had failed G.o.d, that she had deliberately disobeyed, and that G.o.d was angry with her.
The devil tries to stop us every chance he gets. I often use the a.n.a.logy of a baby learning to walk. We don't expect that baby to stand the first day and walk across the room like an adult. Those little ones will fall often. Sometimes they cry, but they always get back up. That may be some inborn quality, but I suspect it's because the parents are there saying, ”You can do it. Come on, baby, get up and walk.”
The scene is much the same in the spiritual world. All of us fall, but when we're encouraged, we get back up and try again. If we're not encouraged, we tend to stay down, or at least wait a long, long time before trying to get up again.
Never underestimate Satan's relentlessness. He will do whatever he can to trip you, and then make you feel so condemned that you won't want to get up again. He knows that his control is finished once you choose right thoughts and reject wrong ones. He wants to hinder you from clear thinking. He will attempt to thwart you through discouragement and condemnation.
I want to tell you what Cindy did. She wrote Romans 8:1 on three 3x5 file cards and pasted one on her mirror, one on her computer, and one on her dashboard. Every time she looks at the verse, she repeats it aloud. ”Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.”
The Message puts Romans 8:1-2 like this: ”With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.”
We are free in Jesus Christ, and we don't have to listen to Satan's condemnation. When we fail-and we will-that doesn't mean we are failures. It means we failed one time in one thing. It means we didn't do everything right. That doesn't make us a failure.
”Just let Christ be strong in your weaknesses; let Him be your strength on your weak days.”1 Lord Jesus Christ, in Your name I pray for victory. When I fail, please remind me not only that You forgive, but that You also wipe away the guilt and condemnation. Please accept my grat.i.tude. Amen.
17.
No Hope Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in G.o.d and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my G.o.d.
-PSALM 42:5 ”What's the use?” Jeff said to me. ”I've tried many times to work for G.o.d and to accomplish great things. No matter what I do or how hard I work, I end up failing.”
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