Women Arise Weekly Devotional (April 26, 2009)

   

Women Arise! Weekly Devotional (April 26, 2009)

 

 

THERE IS NO VICTORY WITHOUT A WAR! 

 

 

It's human nature to want everything in our lives to come easily. We want everything to run smoothly for us. For example: We want to go to a store and not have to worry about crowded lines. We want to drive to work or wherever it is we are going, and never run into traffic. We want a parking space right in front of the store we are going to. We want a supervisory position without having to put in the extra hours. In other words, we want the victory without the war!  

 

This same principle even applies to our spiritual lives. We want to receive salvation, without having to walk in obedience to God and His commands. We want to learn patience without ever being tested. We want to learn how to love unconditionally without ever having our heart broken. We want to receive all that God has that is good, and never ever receive a thing that WE consider as bad. We want the victory without the war!

 

My sisters, we have to realize that Jesus Himself has said, "In this world you WILL have tribulation, BUT behold, I have overcome the world!" (John 16:33-bold lettering my own emphasis). We think that once we are saved, we should be able to live trouble and pain free. But that just isn't the case now is it? In fact, I find that many times Christians suffer more than unbelievers! Why? Because Satan doesn't mess with us as much when we are living in obedience to him. He has us right where he wants us so his focus is on those who are living in obedience to Christ! He is trying to discourage them and to get them to turn away from God-and therefore render themselves as ineffective! There is NO victory without the war! 

 

We also have to remember that we live in a fallen world! We as humans, have been given free will (freedom to make our own choices, good or bad), by God. However, because of that free will, we more often than not make poor choices. Many times those poor choices affect not only us, but others around us. And so, there are consequences to those choices. God disciplines those He loves like a father or mother does their child. (Proverbs 3: 11-12, Hebrews 12: 5-11) That being said, mix our poor choices in with Satan and his demons, and their plot to steal, kill and destroy us (John 10:10), and you'll see why Jesus warned us that hard times were basically inevitable! My friends, there is NO victory without the war!

 

But the good news is that GOD is not surprised by any of this! He knew all of this before making the decision to give us free will, and is using ALL of our choices (good and bad) to accomplish His greater purpose! But even deeper, He's like a master chess player: He doesn't HAVE to know where on the board we are going to make a move, doesn't matter, because regardless of where we move, He can counteract our move and still win the game!

 

Also, Jesus Christ learned OBEDIENCE through what He suffered! The same can apply to us! Now let me be clear on something: *God does not CAUSE bad things to happen, but He ALLOWS them. BIG DIFFERENCE!* As I mentioned above, our poor choices and the enemy are behind the bad things that happen, but GOD (like that Master Chess Player), can use those poor choices of ours and turn them around for a greater good and still win the 'game'... But, there is NO victory without the war!

 

Just look in the bible and read the story of Job (the book of Job) and the story of Joseph (see Genesis Chapters 37, 39-45 for complete story; Genesis 50:20 ) and the story of Daniel and his friends (Daniel 3: 1-27), and you can see how God ALLOWED what these men must have thought were 'bad' things to happen, but see the end and how God used those 'negative' circumstances to fulfill a greater GOOD! (Romans 8:28)  What Satan tried to use to harm and destroy these men, God turned it around and used it for GOOD! WOW! There was NO victory without the war!

 

Think about Jesus on the cross! God ALLOWED Him to go through that. Jesus prayed for the Father to remove that cup (His coming crucifixion and death) from Him, but God didn't! He ALLOWED Jesus to suffer...BUT why??? Because He had a GREATER PLAN! One that would save ALL who would believe in Jesus! One where Jesus (and us) would have victory over Satan-over death and the grave! God the Father, KNEW that through what He was ALLOWING Jesus to suffer, so much GOOD would come out of that and Jesus would come out on top!!! Praise GOD!  See, there would've been NO victory without the war!!!!!!!!!!!! Read the book of Revelation and you see that through Jesus Christ and what He did for us on that cross, THE WAR IS WON AND THE VICTORY IS OURS (believers)!!!!!  Amen!

 

LaTanya Scott