Evil will not win…

Yesterday, God brought to my attention that the evil beings in this world, meaning the fallen angels, will not prevail forever.

I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” (Psalm 82:6–7)

One cult uses this verse as ‘proof’ that Jesus is only ‘a god’ because it calls other people gods. They do not read it carefully or understand that the terms used to describe gods refer to fallen angels, including Satan and all demons. More than one verse clarifies that the ‘sons of God” is not a term for people. For example: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” (Job 1:6)

The Bible calls those who are saved “children” of God and being in the family of God, and Christ is our ‘brother’ but this term from Psalm 82, by its context, is not about people but about those creatures who darken the minds of people. Nevertheless, like people. They will die.

That they will also “fall like any prince” is a good reminder that the human leaders of this world will eventually die too. Over the centuries, and even in the OT, evil leaders ruled for a time and made life miserable for many of their subjects, but they do not live forever. In other words, focus on the facts. Evil people are also terminal. As someone once said, “We may choose what we want in the supermarket of life, but eventually we have to go through the checkout.”

Not only that, today’s devotional points to the last verse of Psalm 82:

Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations! (Psalm 82:8)

We are experiencing cosmic conflict, yet God repeats many times that the world is His, even though the gods are permitted for a season to wreak havoc. The Lord wants His people to see beyond their schemes of sin and realize this activity is suicidal and will end. One day, “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14) He even says, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” (Psalm 2:8) Evil will not win it; we will!

I’ve sometimes said that because I’ve read His book, I know the ending — Jesus wins! I don’t fully understand why God allows this war filled with its horror stories and deeds done by blinded people who seem to have no regard for their own lives, never mind the lives of others, but trusting God means faith in what He says, not in what I can see or figure out. And He says, “Jesus wins.” And He also says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37) I don’t win because I experience the victory over evil in this world but because of the peace in my heart that God will do what He says. 

PRAY: God, again I am thankful that the so-called ‘ruler of this world’ is on a short leash. He answers to You and one day will be tossed in the lake of fire created just for him and his demons. In the meantime, You remain sovereign and all he desires must pass Your scrutiny. Only what You can use for good and to demonstrate Your glory is allowed. Thank You for letting me know who wins this war for human souls — and I pray You will make known to many the reality of Your Holy power and grace.

The Battle belongs to God

In the past few months I’ve noticed that the greater faith I have in God, the more I am able to do things I thought I could not do. In other words, faith in me doesn’t work very well. When what I decide to do doesn’t work out, confidence drops. When what God decides to do, it happens. Today’s reading agrees with this:

It is nothing to God to work with many or with few, and no giants or walled cities can successfully oppose Him. It was unbelief, therefore, and unbelief alone that prevented the Israelites from going into the Promised Land. It may have sounded like humility to themselves to talk of their own weakness and of the strength of their enemies, but it was really unbelief.

The devotional author goes on to say that focus is more important than self-image. It might seem humble to focus on my weakness, but that also puts the spotlight on me and my sin instead of Christ. I cannot do what He asks, but He goes before me and works to perfect His strength in my weakness.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9–10)

I’ve heard this said flippantly, as if the speaker knew the teaching but it was not part of their experience or a reality that they felt weak. I’ve done the same thing, yet still put confidence in my strengths. It is when I faced “giants in the land” that weakness shows up and it becomes very much a fact that without Christ, I can do nothing.

And this is the odd part: reaching that place is where the life  of Christ and His power becomes obvious. It is in the place where I say “I can’t” and am totally convinced of my weakness. In that place is where another truth is realized:

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love (Ephesians 1:3–4)

In all this, another factor is at work — faith. In the face of giants, unbelief gives up when the focus is on me and weakness. Yet Jesus graciously comes to the rescue of those who are helpless. I see Him in a different way when I cannot do what I know He wants me to do. Instead of asking the impossible, He is asking me to let Him do it. Like that hand in the glove. I need to stop trying to move the hand and let Him move me.

Even though I still feel weak and unable. Even though the task seems impossible. And when He begins to move, and I see the results, my faith in Him soars… oh, I know, faith is the assurance of things unseen, yet when He moves, He lets me see it — and He fills my heart with praise and great joy. I want to tell the world about the wonder of Jesus Christ.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m such a small nothing, a tiny blimp in history and in Your kingdom, yet You allow me to watch You change weaklings into conquerors, which is an amazing thing, particularly in the hearts of the weaklings! What You do is upside down and backwards compared to how the world thinks we should live when we want to make things happen. How delightful to be in on this ‘secret’ of living as a weak winner instead of a do-it-myself nothing.

Confess, be filled, accept His will

When my husband was saved, we had a discussion with one of the elders in the large church we attended. He had a cup in front of him and used it to illustrate the Christian life. He held the cup upright and said that when we confessed our sin for salvation and for each sin after being saved, God would fill us with the Holy Spirit. The cup remained upright.

Then he said that each time we disobeyed God, the cup tipped over — or in other words, we were filled with ourselves and the Holy Spirit was no longer in control. He said that we needed to deal with that sin so we could be upright and again filled with God’s Spirit.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

A new Christian discovers the joyous wonder of what it means to be forgiven and clean. We realize the power of the Lord Jesus and become amazed at His ability to give us victory. We are  delighted that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

However, the illustration with the cup didn’t end there. The elder tipped it then set it upright several times, and said, “You have to realize that this is the Christian life and how God works to deal with the sin that He has saved you from.”

Today’s devotional writer points out that Christians tend to feel that a life of inward rest and outward victory is their inalienable birthright. We remember that initial joy that made us certain of victory but it isn’t long before our experience becomes one of few and fleeting victories and our defeats are many and disastrous.

I remember when my early visions of triumph grew dim and I began to match that overturned cup. My faith seemed to be an never-ending cycle of failure and victory, one hour sinning and the next repenting. I soon thought 1 John 1:9 had to be the most important verse in the Bible regarding Christian growth and victory over sin.

Then I started to think that this experience was more like being a soldier. Enlisting makes me one but in name only. Life would be the bootcamp where I learned to live like what I already was.

I had to learn this reality: Jesus came to save me now, in this life, from the power and dominion of sin and to make me more than a conqueror through His power. The Bible declares it in the purpose of His death and says it everywhere. Not one hint is given that this deliverance is limited and partial, nor that we have to be satisfied with continually being tipped over.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:1–8)

The solution is keeping short accounts, not accepting that tipped-over condition as the norm. I’m to set my mind on Him and consider the old me dead to sin and alive to God.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

PRAY: Lord, it is harder to set my mind on the truth of what You have done in me when my body is plagued with weakness and feels yucky. Help me keep short accounts and take care of myself without letting this recovery time fill me with fleshy self-pity. Of course I want the joy of the Holy Spirit but I will accept whatever You want for me.

Choose grace

There is a saying, “The same sun that softens the wax also hardens the clay.” That is true also for suffering. The good that can come from it is not automatic. One man loses his wife and he becomes more tender and with greater sympathy for others. Another faces the same loss and it makes him bitter and hard. One woman has a great sorrow and it turns her to God. Another has a similar experience and she is never seen inside a church again.

Today’s devotional reading points this out. Trouble in itself is neither positive nor negative. The result depends on my reaction. God offers grace to use sorrow creatively and to force it to yield up its hidden blessings, but I do not always rise to that. My negative reactions throw barricades against the will of God to bless me. And if it is not a negative reaction, it will be my own attempts to solve, eradicate or somehow escape the trouble.

My concern with suffering starts out as if I’m trying to find an explanation for it and for my own ineffective responses. I think that if I can find a reason for it, then I will cope, but what I really want is victory. Even if I come up with answers to those questions and fully understand the “why” of pain or loss or inability, I’d still have to bear that pain, loss, inability. The bottom line is that I really want and need the grace of God. If I cannot be rid of the suffering, then I want Him to help me stand under it. And that is why God gave me Jesus Christ.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)

When life gets hard, people come up with various coping mechanisms. Some use pills, booze, or distractions. Some pray, or become involved in work or play. These might work for a little while, but not for the long run. God has a better solution, and I’m always amazed at His way of dealing with the difficulties in my life. He uses truth.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32)

Before I got out of bed this morning, I felt overwhelmed. This week’s module in the current course I’m taking has three times as many lectures as a normal week, and hundreds of pages of reading. My prayer list is heavy, as are other responsibilities. I wanted to escape, run away from home, or at least think about something more pleasurable. However, my spirit was saying I should rise to this, not run away, not even for a moment.

As I wrestled with not wanting to do that, yet also wanting to respond to all this in a way that honors God, the Lord put a verse into my mind that I’d learned years ago. Instantly, my wrestling match ended. Those weighty circumstances have not changed, but my attitude is more like it should be. I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me.

God knows how to bring me closer to Him. It is by giving me challenges that I cannot handle without Him. Will I choose some sort of escape as I suffer this sense of helplessness? Or will I turn to Him who holds out all the answers to my questions, and even better, offers a liberating grace that gives me truth to bear all challenges without folding up under their power? Thankfully, His grace also includes the power to make the best choice.

My sufferings = His sufferings

Corrie ten Boom

(1892 - 1983)

Dutch, Christian Holocaust survivor

Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian woman captured by the Germans for harboring Jews, experienced unimaginable treatment in a concentration camp before her release on a clerical error. She spoke of the power of Christ who, in the midst of great suffering, never left her. His loving presence made her “more than a conqueror” (Romans 8:37) in the suffering and later set her free to share the gospel with thousands of people.

Today’s devotional reminds me that England’s freedom to preach and practice the gospel of salvation by grace happened because God shielded His people. On this day in English history, a plot was uncovered that the Papists were going to destroy the Houses of Parliament. Later, on the same date, King William III quashing the hope of Popish ascendancy and securing religious liberty. According to Spurgeon, our Puritan forefathers made this a special time of thanksgiving, with singing: 

    While for our princes they prepare
    In caverns deep a burning snare,
    He shot from heaven a piercing ray,
    And the dark treachery brought to day.

Spurgeon rejoices that God takes care of His people, and that no one can defeat those who trust in Him.

Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD. (Isaiah 54:16–17)

Yet God does not always shield. Sometimes His people suffer greatly. Corrie Ten Boom’s sister died in Ravensbruck. Many others have died defending the gospel that we love, refusing to deny the Christ who died for our spiritual liberty. Yet while the world asks, “Why does God allow suffering?” Christians know that He not only controls, but has purpose in all that happens to us. Sometimes it is hidden at the time, but later revealed. And sometimes, as Ten Booms recounts, it is revealed even in the midst of great pain.

Corrie Ten Boom knew both the horror of torture and the wonder of God’s care in that concentration camp. She also knew that God calls His people to do something that only grace and His power can do in us. He asks us to have an attitude toward suffering that only makes sense to people like her, people who have experienced it and know that grace can make it a reality. 

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:13)

Oswald Chambers says that if I am going to be used by God, God will take me through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for me at all, but meant to make me useful in His hands, to give my life greater value. They will also enable me to understand what others experience so I’m not surprised or confused at what comes across my path. By suffering, He lets me see how Christ suffered and how I can be like Christ in suffering.

I may never have ongoing trauma like a long time in a concentration camp, but I might live next to a difficult neighbor, or struggling with poverty, or ill health, or wayward children. In whatever happens, God reminds me that the sufferings of Christ are not those of ordinary people. He suffered “according to the will of God,” and only as I am related to Him can I understand what God is after when He allows me to suffer.

Christians easily talk about seeking the will of God, but that talk tends to be suspended when it comes to suffering. Most of us pray quickly for deliverance. We want God to make it better, to restore the good times. Instead of trying to identify what is happening to us with the sufferings of Jesus Christ, we would rather partake in the glory. We miss the point, never mind the wonder of His grace in such suffering.

Sometimes it is a purging process. God wants to remove sin and selfishness that we might be more like Jesus. I’ve known resistance to this. Do I really want my personal ambitions put out of my life? And if I do accept that God is rebuking or purging me, I sometimes insist that He shows me exactly what He is doing so I can “help” Him. How foolish! God seldom shows His specific reasons for what He is putting me through. I cannot “help” Him for that would make me self-righteous and therefore useless. Instead, He asks me to walk by faith, not sight, and trust Him as I go through the fire.

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Lord, in the worst things of my life, I most remember Your sustaining power and Your very real presence. You have used calamities large and small to draw poisonous selfishness out of me. I know that You are not finished. While my life has been marvelously blessed, I understand that to become all that You want for me, I must also be a partaker of Christ’s sufferings. Grant me faith to trust You no matter what lies ahead, so I will rejoice as You work out Your perfect plan.