Fortunately, I was able to remind them about
how it is one of the devices of the devil to weaken Christians, as we touched
on in our last post. As the bible says in II Cor. 2:11 (NLT), “we are familiar
with his evil schemes”, and this is one of them. The devotional reminds us that
grace is on our side, and it is sufficient (II. Cor. 12:9)! So, I present the
devotional for that day to you in full below, you can also access it here- Yes I will, a devotional by Vertical Worship.
Pretending that there are no battles in life
is a waste of time.
It is, however, a tool the enemy tries to use
to get us to forget how to fight. After
all, if there is no battle, this is no need for vigilance, warriors, or
weapons. And that makes us unprepared, under trained, and without tools to
fight.
Because the battles DO come. II Tim 2:3 says, “Join me in suffering like a
good soldier of Christ Jesus.” This
implies that signing up with Jesus means our Christian walk will not be easy
and that you will be required to fight.
But GOD.
God does not leave us weaponless or alone to
fight. It is our responsibility to be
prepared and to pick up the weapons that He provides us. Because if we are ready, He is paving the way
with His grace. This grace gives us the things we do not deserve, like help and
victory in the battles we face in our lives.
The tools we are given are many— most
importantly, the strength of Christ in you.
Quickly following are prayer, humility, the Word of God, forgiveness,
confession of sins, God-fighting for you, refuge, boldness, and hope. Each of these are both promises and weapons
we use in obedience of the Commander of the Army of the Lord. They offer tools
for the offence of the battle and for use in the defence. They are often laying
useless at the feet of Christian soldiers—instead of worn, comfortable and at
the ready, in the hands of the infantry.
So, let’s agree that this battle is real! Let us fight together and see victory in the
battles so that we can know that the Lord is real, and His provision for us in
the fight can be counted on. Pick one of
these weapons today and exercise it. Use it. Forgive your sister, confess your
sin to the Lord, and move forward in forgiveness. Don’t let pride ruin your
relationship with your boss; pray for the strength to follow through.
You don’t have to do all things today. Allow God to offer His grace to you in small
ways that bring lasting change. Because
as you see God fighting your battles for you and with you, you will discover
another weapon that has power you never imagined. You will find thankfulness.
Thank God that His grace is on your side;
thank Him for the strength for the refuge He offers. Your gratitude to Him will turn to praise of
Him, and the enemy will have no choice but to flee before the power of praise
in your life.
And then, your battle will transform. Grace is yours for the picking up in
preparation. Grace will turn your battle
into praise, and the ground will become firm beneath your feet as you follow
Jesus into the battle.
Battles will come—Christian or not—but being a
soldier of Christ Jesus gives you a place on the winning team. Likewise, Christ Jesus gives you victory in
battles that seem too dark to fight. God will never leave you to fight alone.
Use the tools, be prepared, be encouraged.
Grace is on your side.
These are the verses, I pray you find them useful: II Tim. 2:3; James 4:7; Eph. 6:11-14; Zech. 4:6; John 16:23; Joshua 23:10.
Photo cred.: Biblia
Battles will come—Christian or not—but being a soldier of Christ Jesus gives you a place on the winning team. I am in the lord's army 💜
ReplyDeleteYeah. I'm also a soldier in the Lord's army. Hallelujah!
DeleteI'm glad we serve the Lord who is the commander in Chief of the hosts of heaven, the Might Man in battle, the Man of war. He's always beside us to strengthen us. Thank God for His grace.
ReplyDelete