EPHESIANS 6:10 – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
THEME OF THE DAY. BATTLING SIN AND FACING TRIALS. Not a day goes by that Christians don’t face two things; battles against sin and trials testing our faith. It is the way we journey to heaven. It is how God has ordained His children fight and walk their ways home to Him. And if we ever hope to not only enjoy fellowship with the Lord but to consistently overcome both these challenges, we must be convinced this is life as a Christian in a cursed world. So, how do we do battle against sin and face trials successfully? Both answers are found in today’s scripture. Let’s take them in order.
First, to do successful battle against sin we lean on the Person of our Lord and the power from the Lord. The application is this. When tempted to sin, immediately remember the Presence of the Lord. He is not only with us, but living in us – This is the mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). This goes a long way in saying “no” to sin. His holy Presence remembered causes us to pause. And when we do, we see sin for what it is – the means of a child of God breaking the heart of God. If we learn to see sin in the light of grieving the Lord, we will fight it – every time. No true child of God wants to bring such grief to his or her God. But there is more. In the heat of the battle against sin, not only remember the Lord’s presence, but also our inability to fight the battle alone. In this realization, the power of the Lord comes to our rescue and in the strength of His grace, sin is defeated and glory given to the God of all grace. We will be enabled to say with the Apostle Paul, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
The second challenge Christians face is intense trials testing our faith. As with the first one, battling sin, we overcome them by the Person of our Lord and the power from the Lord. Here is the application. When trails come, and they will, immediately pause and remember the Lord Himself knows and identifies with our trials – For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18). Let the knowledge of our Lord’s trials remind us we are not alone. He has traveled this road before us and is traveling ours with us. And the second application in overcoming the testing of our faith is reliance upon the strength of the Lord. We are told “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). The chief way of escape is by hiding under the shelter of His wings (Psalm 61:4).
Battling sin and facing trials. It is our lives as followers of Christ, but don’t despair. Rejoice. He has commanded us, “Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might”. In obeying this command, we will overcome both.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to always look to Your Son when I face sin and trials.”
QUOTE: “The Person of the Lord and the strength of the Lord are the two main weapons of all our warfare.”