09/24/2021
In this age of COVID-19, that appears to us to be a never ending string of variants and new sickness, are we despondent? In this world that is filled with hatred, and an all out attack on the Word of God, are we afraid? As men turn against one another, and people die of COVID, it is easy to fall victim to depression, but if we continue to call out to the Lord He will answer us… He will protect us, and He will set us free. When we feel boxed in by events, and accosted by discord from every angle, our God will open the doors of this earthly prison and lead us into green pastures. He will turn us out into wide open spaces of endless and eternal joy, not by removing us, by the death of our bodies, but through the unshackling of our souls from the spirit of this world.
“I called upon the LORD in distress: The LORD answered me, and set me in a large place. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: What can man do unto me?”
Psalm 118:5-6 KJV
As men and women of faith we are told that we are not of the world, and this is true, yet we keep flirting with it, and often reinserting ourselves into it. We even allow it to rule our hearts, minds, and in some cases our very souls as we are lured to separate ourselves further from God. Then we become despondent, and feel closed in on every side because our separation from God isn’t the freedom we sought, it is a prison of hopelessness. Our separation doesn’t turn us out from the confines of our faith, no, quite the contrary, our faith is unending, and eternal; being “freed” from God only serves to imprison us in the world, and places us at the mercy of its fallen spirit… who has become our jail keeper. Once he has separated us from God, Satan begins to whisper words into our ear like “suicide”, “cut yourself”, “this drug will ease the pain”, “take pleasure in illicit sex”, and other words that are devoid of all hope. He doesn’t love us, no, that is another of his lies, he actually hates us just as he hates Jesus.
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
John 15:19 ESV
So why are professed Christians finding themselves trapped by depression when the world faces tribulation? Why do Christians commit suicide and do these other hopeless things? Why do we look at what is happening in the world around us and let it rob us of the joy, and peace we have in God, and Jesus Christ? It is because we still consider ourselves to be part and parcel of the world, and all that is happening there, and we continue to consider ourselves to be at its mercy. We do not trust in the Lord, and Jesus Christ completely, and we have become convinced that the grace we are receiving through Christ is insufficient, and God’s love is too little.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV
How do we conquer such thoughts, and reclaim our victory over the world? We do so by prayer, and asking God to help us. Remember the story of Jesus casting the unclean spirit from the boy? What did his father say? This should be our constant prayer, and our hope…
“And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.””
Mark 9:23-25 ESV
Rooted in our faith, and strengthened by our belief, the world has no hold on us, no dominion over us, and man can not harm us because we are truly new creatures… made to breathe the breath of Heaven. As certainly as fish will suffocate and die on land, and man beneath the sea, we will die on the earth, but our home is not here. We are the children of God, and we are here just as Jesus was. Listen to His words regarding this…
“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”
John 17:15-18 KJV
The world is continuously in turmoil, and filled with sickness too. The creatures that reside here devour one another and call this life, but where we are going is much different; our home is a place where the lion lays down with the lamb, and God sustains us. The world is not our home, and those of us who concern themselves with it are indeed its creatures. Our purpose here is to rescue as many lost souls as we can, but to otherwise remain separate, set aside, and holy to God. Our mission is a spiritual one…
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Ephesians 6:11-13 KJV
So, we are not meant to concern ourselves with politics, plagues, famine, drought, evil, or the other physical hardships of the world. We are not meant to be distraught when faced by those things that are natural to this fallen world. No, we are like rescue swimmers who, without a second thought, dive into raging seas to rescue souls at risk. We take the hands of the lost and lift them up, even as Jesus took Peter’s. Our hope has now become our belief, we can leave the world and its troubles behind… we can place our trust in God without reservation.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for shepherding us into green pastures, opening the prison doors of the world that have robbed so many of us of hope, and for returning us to a life of joy, and peace in your presence. Help us Father in our moments of unbelief, and replace every fear and sadness with your courage, and joy. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who has defeated the world, and chained Satan. Great are you who has sent your Son Jesus to redeem us, and given us life in Heaven. Praised be your name for every day in which we are allowed to save the lost, and revel in the joy you bring us. Wash us clean each day in the blood of Christ, and keep our attention on your eternal will for us… not on the world that will soon fade away. Send us out to save the lost, and count every one as happiness while we fend off the desperation of the world that we struggle to maintain our separation from. Fix our eyes on you, and give us strength to resist our hopelessness as we are accosted by the very empathy that gives us a heart for the lost. Help us Father to pray without ceasing, be victorious over the world, and to hold your joy in our hearts forevermore.
“The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.”
Psalm 118:7-13 ESV
Rich Forbes