“Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Ephesians 6:16
I didn’t bother posting on Resurrection Sunday because I felt there was nothing I could say to top that feat, truly! He’s alive! He rose from the grave! He conquered death by His sacrifice! It’s all been said before. But God is revealing more and more to me about what happened AFTER the resurrection and what it means for us in this present age. We know that Jesus died for us, to save us from our sins and to pay the price so that we could be restored to our original state. He redeemed us by His own blood, to be in communion and fellowship with God as the first man and woman were in the beginning. He is the second Adam – because he lives, we can live again. But there is more. His life and death, burial and resurrection accomplished something for us in this physical realm that prevails to this day.
Ah, travails. In this life we will have them – many times. Troubles come and go for all of us and no matter your station in life, you are sure to have them. I am currently in the midst of a trial but instead of continually being oppressed by my circumstances, I now cling to hope. My hope comes from, among other things, a song that our choir sang on Easter Sunday, The Credo.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord
Who was conceived, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost
Born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate
Crucified, died and was buried; He descended into Hell
This first part is delivered softly, beautifully in operatic voices. Then, the song picks up and gets punchy. It has a gospel rock/disco vibe going, reminiscent of Whoopi Goldberg and the nuns singing Ball of Confusion in Sister Act 2:
On the third day, He arose. On the third day, He Arose. On the third day HE AROSE!
Each stanza crescendos, increasing in drama as it modulates up to the next key. All the time the piano is pounding away and it’s such a fun song that you can’t help but enjoy it. You’re swaying and clapping your hands as you’re caught up in the rhythm. Now, here’s the part that God used to minister to me in my current circumstance. I awakened in the middle of the night, as I do sometimes, tossing and turning and trying to find a way to get comfortable so I could go back to sleep. It’s during these pockets of wakefulness that the devil insinuates his agenda into my fuzzy consciousness and says things that bring me to full alertness. He reminds me that I have concerns, worries and fears. He buzzes in my ears with things that I didn’t or couldn’t address during my waking hours. He makes me feel like I shouldn’t be sleep – I have plenty of things that should keep me awake! And before you know it, my sleep is completely disrupted. Only last night, when he attempted this trick, a line from The Credo drowned him out:
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe
I believe in God and the Holy Ghost
I believe, I believe in God!
And I thought to myself, and suddenly it seemed quite reasonable – HOW DARE YOU NOT BELIEVE that God wouldn’t deliver you from your personal hell? He raised Jesus – if He raised Him, raising you should be a cinch! How dare you believe in Jesus’ birth through the Virgin Mary and not believe that God can supernaturally deliver you from your problems? WHAT? Does that even make sense? These are the cornerstones of our faith. How dare you believe that Jesus endured his affliction and drank from His cup, but YOU cannot? The same God that imbued His earthly incarnation with power to endure hardship has also empowered you, in this fleshly body, to do the same. Because He did, you can. That has become my motto and my credo. With these thoughts in mind, I went back to sleep.
Someone said once, regarding the devil, that he is God’s devil. Meaning, God created him, as He did all of us, to serve a purpose. He can only do what God allows, as we find in the example of Job. The question becomes then, why? Why allow this evil being to torture your creation? My own answer comes from my life. The evil one is never satisfied with a take down, but wants complete annihilation. He will repeatedly kick you while you’re down. And that is always his fatal flaw. He’s just greedy. See, he overplays his hand. In going in for the kill, he pushes me so far that instead of retreating and fleeing in fear, I actually stand my ground and call his bluff. I drop to my knees and call on God for HE alone can save me. All drama ceases to be important and no longer appears threatening to my future. I know that I will survive. Attacks from the devil cause me to turn to God, to seek Him, to run into His arms for shelter and to get closer to Him. That makes the trouble I go through almost worth it as it causes a deepening of my relationship with and a dependence on God my Father. For me, it always comes down to this. All roads lead back to Him.
Be blessed,
Loria