Stand Your Ground
I just recently visited my friend, preacher Billy Wilson from Rice, Va., who is a young 91-years-old. He was given a diagnosis from his doctor that he didn’t like. After researching through medical books and working with his physician, Billy discovered that perhaps things were not as bad as he thought they were.
If you were to visit Billy now you would see that he is up and kicking and doing just fine. Billy’s response to the diagnosis pertaining to his physical body made me think about how Christians respond when they are struggling with spiritual matters in their life. Do you succumb to the circumstances or do you stand your ground and fight back with the spiritual weapons that Christ has provided every Christian?
May I suggest the next time you find yourself dealing with spiritual problems that you do three things? First, and foremost, pray and ask the Lord for strength and the realization of His mighty power, which is present within you. Second, search His Word for passages that encourage, comfort, direct and strengthen. The next thing you need to do is seek out a committed Christian or talk with your pastor and see if you can work together to diagnose what the spiritual problem is in your life. I am confident that through prayer, the enlightenment that comes through reading God’s Word and through the encouragement of God’s people that you too will discover that your spiritual diagnosis is not as bad as you once thought. Soon, you’ll be fine and kicking just like preacher Billy!
One particular Scripture that I would encourage you to turn to during difficult spiritual struggles is Ephesians 6:11-13, which says:
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
Regardless of the problem, whether it is a temptation that we are trying to combat, persecution we are enduring from family or just a sinful habit that we cannot seem to let go of, we must first realize that we do not war against flesh and blood. Our inner struggles have their root in the spiritual realm. Make no mistake, demons are real and their sole purpose is to seek and destroy Christians. Continue to read Ephesians 6:14-18 to discover how we as Christians can overcome the wiles of Satan and his army. And don’t forget, stand your ground and hold fast to your faith in Jesus Christ.
