Count It All Joy! |
Part II "Fit For Battle" |
God must think I can be made fit for battle, He chose me, I did not choose Him first, nor did I volunteer to be a warrior! (Did I miss the fine print somewhere? Perhaps the Bible ought to come with a warning label: "Not for the faint of heart!" Now that I have chosen Him, though, I am learning that He is the general, I am the infantry - this is His battle, His war. If I want souls saved for Him, I am commanded to do certain things. Jesus is up front leading the charge, and He is also my rereward (rearguard)! All I have to do is maintain in the middle surrounded by Him, empowered by Him. On guard! Forward march!!! Who knows what the skirmishes will be this day! Blood of Jesus over me and every situation! That is my real armor! Wow!!! What an honor to be a foot soldier in the army of the Lord! Watch! Be alert!! Be ready!!! Those are Jesus' commandments. Life lobs shells and bombs, missles and mortars non-stop. So what? I am commanded to stand and fight, not cower and run! Wth Christ in me I can stand, when I try to stand on my own, I am already defeated, weighed down by armor too heavy for me alone. Without His strength in me, I fall. Three times the Apostle Paul commands me to withstand, stand, and stand some more. Don't worry, Jesus said, about him who can kill the body. Fear Him who can send my soul to hell! Yes, forget life every getting easier and your Pollyanna ideas about love, peace and joy, they are not meant for this world. Yes, love one another, but don't forget we are in a battle. Stand and fight! I am a warrior!! Planting flowers and tending gardens, enjoying peaceful days have no part in this life. Lolling around in the Bahamas probably wouldn't be a fruitful life from God's perspective. Besides, He has waited a long, long time for me to get to work for Him, so He isn't likely to send me on a paid vacation anytime soon! This is war! Not the garden of Eden!! For the final battle, Jesus removes me and fights alone for only He can finish off the enemy. In the meantime, FIGHT FOR JESUS! He didn't command me to sit around all day floating in some spiritual state of bliss. Instruct and admonish, share the truth of Jesus Christ, yes! Others have to gird their own loins and fight their own battles too. Jesus has commanded them just as He has me. I am not a captain over 50, or even a sergeant. The soul-saving business is strictly do-it-yourself! Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling!!! Others have to do the same. There are no furloughs, no vacations, no respite, no rest. I'll rest when my battles are over. No emergency leaves for broken hearts over the death of loved ones. Jesus said, "let the dead bury their own dead. You follow me!" This is not the time to cry out for comfort. I am surrounded by the enemy! Stop crying about my personal trials and losses, it blurs my vision, and nobody really cares anyway. They have their own battles. Get up and fight! This is war! Jesus promised us torture, persecution and death for His sake. He never promised us a rose garden in this life. {(I am quite certain of that as I have scoured His word for it!!! :) } Why am I so amazed at all of the trials of life? Because I pick out all the verses about Him giving me comfort, peace, joy, and abundance, and all the good things in life, while I miss, dismiss, and ignore the real message. I am in a great battle! "Wake up," He says: "Sleeper arise! Get up and fight!! Hurry!!! The time is short, the day is far gone! Salvation is nearer than you first believed. Look up, your redemption draws nigh!" No, peace, love and joy are not here except in my heart of hearts where God's candle burns steady and bright and His love overflows. Those other things are promised only for the hereafter, for the other life, the eternal one, with the Prince of Peace, the One who gives me peace, but not earthly peace, not like the world gives. If I remember that, I won't get downhearted, disappointed, dejected, and defeated. I should stop wasting my time looking and hoping for those things now. THIS IS WAR!!! Peace only comes when the war is over, the final battle won. Jesus said even then those wonderful things will only be given to me IF I OVERCOME ALL and ENDURE TO THE END. I can only do that with Christ in me! He alone can accomplish that through and for me, but I have to be willing, I have to be cooperative, I have to be obedient. The battle intensifies daily. There is no time for private lives and petty trials, or squabbling with loved ones. No time for selfish reflections and demands for attention, rest, pampering, and ease, no vacation, no night off; no not even a day off for that matter. There is a time for war. This is it! There is a time for peace, it is not now. Jesus came bringing not peace but a sword, and promised the greatest battle and the greastest slaughter the world has ever known when He returns. Who am I to sit whimpering that I want rest and peace now? The days are evil; the days for peace are not now. People cry "peace, peace," but there is no peace and never will be until this spiritual war is over. When everything goes wrong in life don't be so surprised. It's what was promised! Count it all joy!!! Be thankful! Accept it! Don't, in selfish, simpleminded stupidity get riled up about it. This is only life, this is the world - nothing matters here but overcoming spirtually. Onward Christian soldiers! I found joy!!! Read on! |
This page was last updated on: 1/13/02