Good morning as the sky begins to lighten up for the new day. Do you feel under constant attack? Anxious thoughts, temptations to worry, things to dread all bounce around your mind, and yet you know quite well that we are not to worry or be afraid. How can I possibly be born again with all of this sinful stuff going on in my head? Perhaps, you and I should consider a different view, one more like God's point of view. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. Not yesterday's sins, or those you asked God to forgive today, but all of your sins and my sins for the entire span of eternity. Once this was done on the cross, God began to see the righteousness of Christ in us and tossed our sins as far from Him as the east is from the west. So, why then are we so burdened with these wrong thoughts? We might consider that the devil knows we now belong to God. You and I are now enemies of the world and its prince.
If we go a day without thoughts that make us tremble and sweat it is because God arranged the break and not the enemy. We did not receive robes of lounging about the throne of peace, but a set of armor for fighting and defending. If you joined the military and received only a terrycloth bathrobe for your uniform allowance, you might think that something had gone seriously wrong. Standing there in your spiffy new bathrobe, with your hair cut short and a nice draft cooling your nether regions, you are handed orders to report for duty behind enemy lines. All you can see is that the enemy is not going to consider you to be much of a threat in your new uniform. What is wrong with this picture?
As a young Christian, I did not consider myself much of a threat to the enemy and his world. As the attacks have increased over the years, I now realize that someone does indeed consider me a threat to something. I do not feel stronger, or faster with the sword of the Spirit. My breastplate of righteousness doesn't feel upgraded, and my helmet of salvation does not seem to keep out the evil thoughts. When the attacks come, I run bleating to Jesus just like the little Christian sheep that I am. What kind of a threat is that? It could be because I am not the only sheep under attack. One soldier does not defeat the enemy, but those Christian sheep just keep on coming, clad in their little salvation helmets and righteous breastplates, swinging the Word and sharing the Gospel. The enemy must think himself the victim of some awful joke. Who would outfit an army of sheep? Well, Jesus would.
You and I may not get up feeling like a threat to anyone, but the attacks we deal with daily are a sure sign the enemy fears us. Externally, we seem weak and frail, hardly a threat to inherit the earth. Behind us though stands the might of the Almighty God. For now, the enemy is allowed to attack us as we live in his world. One day, the Lord will lead us into battle and the enemy will get the chance to feel the fear we experience now. You keep on running to Christ when the enemy attacks; I'll be running right beside you.
Bucky
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