Too often, the Church is fearful when they should be faithful. Elijah must have known what would happen when he marched into the king’s court and pronounced a famine. Ahab was wicked, and the threat of death for doing what God asked Elijah to do was very real. If we are going to live the Elijah life, then we must be driven by faith and not by fear.
My question is, where are the prophets of God? Where are the men and women who will courageously stand up and declare that according to God’s Word, the immoral eethos of our time is neither right nor normal? The body of Christ must never placate or acquiesce to this state of affairs. Yes, we should be compassionate toward the people who are in bondage to sin, but we should never, in the name of compassion, become complicit in the evil that is afflicting the world.
Paul said that not only is death defeated, but it will also be destroyed. There will come a time (in a place where there is no time) when death will no longer exist. Death came into existence through the sin of Adam, but through Jesus Christ, life has been given as a gift to all who believe in Him and in the power of His sacrifice on the cross.
When we are shining the light in the darkness, the lost will be drawn to us so that we can point them to the cross where sins are defeated. When we are shining the light of God’s love and grace in a world of anger and hatred, people will come. When the joy of the Lord is beaming from our countenance like a beacon of hope in a broken world, they will be drawn to the light.
Do not fear. God said, “Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish” (v. 11). When life comes at us, we need to remember that God’s got this. It might take us a minute to steady ourselves and get past the initial wave of bad news, but God is there to hold us and help us overcome.
Satan may look and sound like a foe that we cannot defeat, but the truth is that he is already defeated. Jesus defeated him from the cross, and when we put our faith in Jesus, the victory Jesus won becomes our victory as well. The story comes full circle because God has already declared the end from the beginning. The end of Satan, his demons, and all who follow him is found in the final chapters of the Bible.
Jesus, the Man of sorrow and acquainted with grief, is the one who gives us joy unspeakable and full of glory. There will be times of sorrow in the midst of our joy, but one day soon, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying. And there will be no more pain because all those things have passed away.
Satan has deceived too many people into believing that they are powerless against sin. While it is true that before Christ, we were powerless. In fact, we were dead in trespasses and sins (Ep 2:1), but through faith in Jesus, which releases the grace of God in us, we have the power to live in victory rather than defeat. We can say no to sin and live to please God. We can tell the devil that he is a liar and has no authority or power over us. Indeed, Jesus has given us authority in His name to put the enemy under our feet so that we can walk in victory.
You’ve been preparing for this! All those prayers, all those hours reading your Bible, all those Sundays that you got up and came to church even when you didn’t feel like it, all those tears, all that praise, all that worship, it has ALL been leading to this. This could be your finest hour because if you endure to the end, you will be victorious! There are witnesses in heaven on the edges of their seats cheering you on. You’ve got this because the battle is the Lord’s, and there is always victory in Jesus.
