Struggle builds strength

If a butterfly is helped out of its cocoon, it will not be able to fly and soon dies. If a chick is helped out of the egg, it will be weak and may die. Struggle is necessary for strength.

I know a new Christian who has been struggling. She says it feels as if God has “spit her out” and abandoned her. Another believer wrestles with bad dreams. A third is caught up with anger at her pastor. Another is deeply discouraged because her prayers seem to never get answers. The list could go on. Christians are in a spiritual battle and sometimes we forget it and are not able to identify what is happening to us. For that reason, Peter wrote:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (1 Peter 5:8-10)

I used to think that the last line above referred to physical suffering such as persecution, illness or some type of loss, but in context, the suffering is about the vexation felt in a spiritual battle. Our enemy is both a liar and a destroyer. He wants to overwhelm us with temptation, discouragement, or anything that will stop us from following Christ. He wants us to sin against our Savior and deny His power in our lives. He is a conflict creator also, and constantly accuses us before God (Revelation 12), accuses God to us with things like, “How could God love you?” and accuses us to other believers, and they to us, anything to get a fight going. The Greek word for “devil” means “slanderer” and this is his specialty. All of this is a struggle for believers.

He is also good at making us feel like we are the only ones who struggle, but Peter says this is not so. He says this is experienced by all believers, but it is not without purpose. God is gracious, and in this battle against the lies and activity of Satan, we will become stronger.

In my walk with Him, God has taken me through some severe struggles against this roaring lion who wants to destroy me. After each one is over, I experience the things Peter says: wholeness, stability, new power and greater steadfastness. The things involved in the struggle have been shown up for the lies that they are, exposed as the tools of this enemy. When that happens, his attacks become weak and deflated, like a danger-shaped balloon that has lost all its air.

At the same time that I am given strength, these battles also leave me with a renewed sense of weakness. I am given a fresh knowing that apart from Christ I am totally without any ability. In myself, I could no more defeat Satan than beat my way out of a prison cell or a sealed coffin.

These verses say that when evil forces come against me, God is not demanding a fighting ability (God goes to battle for me), but that I am first alert and aware. Paul wrote that I must not be “ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11), but quick to recognize the thoughts he puts in my head and the ways in which he attacks. When I am alert, I will be quicker to rely on my Savior and quicker to resist in the attack. Even though Jesus may allow a time of struggle (which builds my spiritual muscles and helps me be even more alert), He promise to use these things for good in my life.

The other assurance, not in these verses but all through the Bible, is that He never leaves me alone on the battlefield and once all the wars are over, I will enjoy eternal glory with Him.