Stand Firm

So many of us go through our Christian lives nonchallantly moving from one place to the next. We take the blessings of God for granted. We assume our church family will always be there to support us, our finances will always be stable, our friends will always have our back, and God is simply waiting to carry out our will. However, Scripture teaches us that the Christian life is not a live of ease to be taken for granted, rather it is a battleground. In fact, Paul warns us in Ephesians 6 that we need to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. This life is not one we can live on our own. Rather than going through the motions and living life off the cuff we must lean completely and totally on the Lord, drawing our strength from Him. Notice Paul's words in Ephesians 6:11-13 "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."

Know this dear friends, as you turn your heart to God and seek personal revival, Satan is turning his attention to you in order to upend your efforts to seek God. The reality is that Satan knows there is a battle going on for the souls of men and he is taking it very seriously. Nothing pleases Satan more than for the Christian to ignore the battle. When we think that we can handle life on our own and see no need to turn to God in total dependence Satan rejoices, because he knows that we are primed to fall. Paul says that there is a spiritual war going on all around us. We cannot merely go through the motions and hope to come out victorious. We must put our full confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, lean on Him with all our understanding and above all stand firm in our faith. There is a battle going on for our souls...but it is one that we cannot lose if we stand firm in our reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ and put on the full armor that He provides (Ephesians 6:14-18). So friends, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power...and stand firm.