The slow unraveling of faith...

The slow unraveling of faith…

            I am going to press a spiritual hot button because I think it needs to be done and because I’ve been there. Read on if you’ve got the stomach and heart for it.

            “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

           

        This is what Jesus has told us of this life we live… It sounds to be a bit of an understatement when you pan over the struggles of your life, doesn’t it?  On Earth; in our lifetime, maybe on a daily basis, we experience; loss, sorrow, pain, frustration, hunger, anger, fear, confusion, brutal attack…. The list could go on forever. And I can only speak on behalf of myself here.

           

         Let me set this up by saying that today, when you woke up, you awoke amidst a world- wide battle.( I'm not talking about the horror you see and hear on the news)  The moment you were conceived in your mother’s womb, you entered into enemy territory. Now I know you didn’t ask to be born. None of us did but now that we have options we can make the best decisions possible to thrive and survive. You can choose to either be tossed about by every wave of difficulty or you can be aware of it and fight back!  

           

          You may be reading this thinking I’m crazy but quite frankly, I don’t care if you think I’m nuts… I know that this, is the truth. There is more going on around you than you’re aware of. There is more going on around you than you can see. 

          

         “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle isn’t 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 6:11-12

            This is a serious warning. Read it again…

When something is bad you warn your family and friends, right? Or if you go to a restaurant and every time you go, you get food poisoning? You would warn those you love, wouldn’t you? Or if someone you knew was going to buy something that was a piece of junk. Or do something that would bring harm to them? You would have the heart to tell them, wouldn’t you? I hope you get my point… I’m not trying to be all doom’s day here. I’m not trying to scare you. But I want to re-direct you back to this warning in the bible.

          

          Jesus warns that we will have trouble in this world. There seems to be no way to avoid it. Things are going to happen, it’s inevitable. But… We can turn to Him in our time of need because He already has overcome the world. What does “overcoming the world mean?”

How many people do you know that died and rose back to life three days later? How many people do you know raised others back to life? How many people do you know that made the blind see again or the paralyzed and crippled walk again?  If we are on enemy lands, and Jesus who once walked this earth, repeatedly healed and made whole the sick and even the dead- in enemy territory, who won the battle? Who won the overall battle?  

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15

He accomplished the one thing none of us were capable of doing. Triumphing over the evil forces of this world. The battle has been won. The devil has been defeated. Jesus died for you and for me!

But why don’t we see a victory? Why are all these things still so far from perfect? From peaceful? Far from love? We are still in enemy territory. We’ll get our plane ticket out of here when Jesus returns or when you reach your final destination, hopefully it will be the destination with Christ in heaven.

Two scriptures I read in James I think are best suited for this entry today.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 (emphasis mine)

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:7-8

I felt led to both of these scriptures to share here because they are a key, I believe. If we are in enemy territory, our earth and we allow ourselves to get so wrapped up in the things around us it does become a poison to us. Also, when tempted to turn to worldly things, we are encouraged to resist them and turn toward God.

I’ve wanted to cave in. I can’t tell you how many times over the last year, especially, that I have wanted to throw in the towel and just check out. I’m not talking about suicide. But if you’ve gone through recovery of any kind, you know what I’m talking about here. It has been tempting to just neglect responsibilities; be wreck less, have a break down or ten, not get out of bed, or give into whatever the devil is pushing you towards. But there has always been a very quiet voice, a gentle push back into the right direction. Encouragement in my spirit that re-directs me back to where I need to be. That re-direction…? Hit the floor. Get down on my knees and pray. That’s always been a good place for me to start when my flesh is feeling anxious and I can’t take the weight of it all anymore. Jesus often went off to secluded places to pray to the Father all the time. He stayed connected to the source. Why do you think we get so distracted? How connected to the source are we?

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35

Jesus has been the only one in history to have been victorious when He walked this earth. He is the only one who figured out and did navigate His way through this life, the right way. That is the man I want to follow. Those are the footsteps I want to walk in. I know I am greatly opposed because I am in this world. By faith I will walk behind Him because there is no one else who died and three days later arose from the dead and was able to share His story, no one.

A bit more hope and peace of mind:

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

I pray that this entry has served to reignite that fire for recognizing and standing against the dark forces of this world and reminded you to turn back to the only one who knows how to fight against it, our savior, Jesus.