12/04/2025
Are you concerned because you are constantly at war within yourself? Does it bother you that there is a struggle going on inside you between good and evil, holy and unholy, or salvation and damnation? Well, take heart because although this conflict is the natural state of man, we have a champion who not only helps us realize the good within ourselves, but helps us to achieve it by defeating sin.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."”
John 16:33 ESV
These words of Jesus bring us great reassurance. We often limit this verse to simply meaning physical tribulation, but it speaks of much more than that. Everything that comes against us in the physical world has a direct impact on us mentally and spiritually... while everything that comes against us mentally and spiritually has a determined influence on our physical wellbeing. These attributes are interwoven, and so intertwined that it is impossible to pull on one chord without moving the others.
As I read my devotional message this morning I was pleased to hear Pastor Oswald Chambers speak to this constant struggle. He spoke about its existence, but not much was said about combating it. Here is what he wrote:
“Life without war is impossible either in nature or in grace. The basis of physical, mental, moral, and spiritual life is antagonism. This is the open fact of life.” - Oswald Chambers
The struggle is as natural as taking our next breath... there is nothing wrong with you when you are constantly having your faith challenged, are facing hardship, or struggling against bad thoughts. This is what it means to be alive, and God doesn’t want us to be without the tribulation... He wants us to confront and defeat it. This is what strengthens the various natures within us; our bodies, our minds, and our spiritual beings.
Each year I take a flu shot. This is a small injection of the dead flu virus, but it triggers my body to produce antibodies that will be ready and waiting should I come into contact with the living virus. I argue that the temporary chills and fever that I feel after taking the inoculation are signs that my body is preparing to fight the live virus and is making itself stronger. It is preparing me for what lies ahead and protecting me from greater harm. The tribulations in our lives do much the same thing, and this includes every manner of challenge to us... including our faith. These come in order to trigger a reaction within us that will prepare us for the greater fight, and to help us win the war...
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.'”
Revelation 2:7 ESV
I had cancer. Being sick affected me in a physical sense; it made me feel terrible, and as I fought it, I also found that I had to fight against depression, malaise... and to determine how I would involve my faith in the struggle I was facing. In the end I was able to work in unison with my doctors and God to defeat my cancer. I thank God for this every day, because one of the greatest outcomes of my battle against cancer was the victory I experienced in my faith. By confronting adversity in my physical world, I was able to marshal my spiritual forces, and by leaning on God I found the comfort and healing I needed physically. This inoculation of tribulation strengthened me and later allowed me to walk with my son as he too faced a cancer in his body.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV
I love these verses from Proverbs. They tell us that by leaning on God in a spiritual manner that we receive moral and physical healing... we are told that when we “turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” This is not only physical language but spiritual reinforcement and it give us insight and understanding into how God has constructed us. We are not meant to be spiritual creatures alone, or likewise simply physical one’s either. We aren’t meant to experience only good, but to confront bad and learn how to overcome it. In this way we experience mental turmoil as the result of these challenges and in the end we grow stronger in every aspect of our existence... physical, mental, moral, and above all else, spiritual. Jesus Christ is our “flu shot” in a world rampant with evil, sin, and physical diseases. He strengthens us as we lean on Him and through Him we grow stronger by grace until we find eternal life.
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:22-23 ESV
Do we praise God in the storms of our lives, or do we allow them to overcome us and to make us despondent as they rob us of our faith and hope? Storms and tribulations are natural occurrences in life, Whether physical, mental, or spiritual, God is with us in the midst of them all. Are we leaning on Him when they come?
“When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
Acts 14:21-22 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the hardships in my life because they draw me closer to you as I seek help in my times of distress. I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who is my inoculation against sin, and my preparation for the coming battles against evil and various physical and mental challenges. Holy Father, it is by your grace that I have been saved, and in your mercy I am comforted. Give me peace and rest in you Father, and as the larger troubles emerge in my life, let me build upon the resolve you have been preparing in me so that I can defeat them in the full knowledge of your presence. I am not alone Lord; you are ever with me, and in me. Give me strength before my enemies on the days of battle and lead me to victory through Jesus. For this I praise your name, give you all the glory, and lift your banner high for all to see. Holy, Holy, Holy, art thou my God and Lord who is my strength and my reassurance in every storm, hardship, catastrophe, and trial. I face nothing alone in life because you are with me always and are my constant hope and strength.
As I face every trouble I will cry out “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! My God goes before me, and He will never abandon me to myself, my enemies, nor any distress!”
Amen!
Rich Forbes