Your Battle is Won
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your circumstances or wondered why you kept fighting the same struggle?
Jesus taught us that life as a Christ-follower will be difficult. Our world is filled with broken people who do broken things. There will be trials.
When Adam and Eve decided to pursue something “good” apart from God, their decision allowed evil to enter the world. This means there is a spiritual battle that we cannot see, and it impacts our everyday lives.
When we give our lives to Jesus, we join His team—but this also means we become a target of the devil, our enemy. Every bad thing that happens to us is not necessarily a direct attack from Satan—sometimes it’s just a result of living in a fallen, broken world. But there is a spiritual element to every situation because the devil is always trying to draw the world away from God, and he is looking for people to destroy.
When struggles happen, the devil will try to get you to believe lies about God, your situation, yourself, or other people. He will try to get you to doubt your identity and your God-given authority. But God, who has victory over Satan, is always fighting for you.
Nothing can overcome God, and so when we rely on God—nothing can overcome us.
In every situation, we are more than conquerors because God deeply loves us. This is why we don’t have to be afraid of the spiritual fight—God has already won it. We need to remind ourselves of this truth so that way we can withstand the attacks from Satan when they come.
But attacks will end, because God will win.
So today, fill your mind with truth. Hold fast to your faith, and guard your heart. Walk in peace toward everyone, and memorize Scripture so that way you can wield it as a weapon against any spiritual attack that comes your way.
And know that no matter what you face—God is already fighting for you. He is in control, and He will never leave you. He will never let you fall as long as you keep clinging to Him.
When you belong to God, you have the power to subdue, crush, and overthrow anything the devil throws at you. God’s power makes you more than a conqueror.
Created to Love Others
When we believe in Jesus and live our lives following after Him, we get to experience His grace and mercy every day! We get to walk in new life and new ways of thinking about God's creation and our place in it. Not to mention, we can rest knowing we are God's own children!
But it can be just as easy to live life thinking only of ourselves and the good things we have received. Jesus spent most of His ministry helping and assisting others, but if we're being honest—and Jesus was always honest, too—most of us have a tendency to be selfish with God's gifts, or ignore opportunities to serve the weak or needy in our everyday lives.
As Paul was speaking to the leaders at the church in Ephesus in Acts 20:35, he made sure to remind them that his life has not been about himself, but about helping others. Paul says that everything he has done has been about helping those who are weak and in need. Paul didn't say these things to boast about himself, he said them to point back to ...