Life without Christ on this fallen planet is a banquet of suffering: cancer, heart disease, sin, temptation, discouragement, despair, alcoholism, drug addiction, mental illness, depression, early and painful death. What does the Word say, in a thousand different ways, about this catalog of horrors? John’s first letter puts it in a single sentence: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them [Christ’s enemies], because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Our devotional today offers suggestions on being an “overcomer.” The core idea is to stand your ground.
Standing Our Ground
A general tendency of Christians nowadays is to lie down and accept whatever the devil dumps on them, often with the tragic assumption that they’re yielding to the mysterious will of God.
There’s no confusion in the Bible, however, between “hell on earth” and “heaven on earth.” We pray every Sunday, in fact, that God’s will may be done “on earth as it is in heaven”–and it was to make heaven-on-earth possible that Jesus died and rose to be Lord of the universe. Consider Ephesians 1:21-23 (New Living Translation): “Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else–not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”
Heaven’s representatives
Notice two points: (a) all things are under the authority of Christ, and (b) the Church is His body–His hands and feet–on earth. Is the picture coming into focus?
So, as heaven’s representatives on earth, how are we expected to function? Not by giving our enemy permission to run over us like a Mack truck! The New Testament is clear from start to finish that we’re expected to stand and fight. Here’s one text among many, Luke 10:19 (New Century Version): “Listen, I have given you power to walk on snakes and scorpions, power that is greater than the enemy has. So, nothing will hurt you.”
Crush the enemy
It’s plain here that “snakes and scorpions” are evil spirits, and that we are to crush them and their works–not to lie down and be crushed! And how do we crush the enemy and his works? By arming ourselves with the Word, speaking it with Christ’s authority, and standing our ground (see Ephesians 6:13).
The promises of God apply to anything that comes against us in this life. We have power and authority over every work of the devil without exception: over sin, sickness, infirmities, threats to our families, threats to our finances, and any human situation that expresses the devil’s hatred rather than God’s love.
Blessed in every way
Let’s be confident, then, that “nothing shall by any means hurt us” when we arm ourselves with the Word and speak it with the authority that Jesus died to give us. And let’s build our lives on the understanding that Jesus has redeemed us from every curse (Galatians 3:13), and that we are “the blessed of the Lord” that means we are physically and mentally blessed, emotionally blessed, financially blessed and blessed in every way.
