BE TRULY GLAD - Devotion.

[6]So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, (1 Peter 1:6)

The Christian life is war. It's described as a warfare between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. It's a war between the saved and the devil; a war between the Spirit and the flesh; between godly things and self; between temporary things and eternal things.It's a struggle that is inevitable. This makes the Christian a target at the warfront.

All the assaults of the devil are aimed at the very heart of the child of God. Satan and his cohorts are unrelenting. They don't get tired nor become discouraged by the resistance of their Target, the Christian. The war is between a mortal man and a spirit.

With this in view, we see that the Christian seems to be the underdog. There's no reason for any man to think that the man will prevail. Even his flesh is against him. His strength sometimes becomes his weakness. He's vulnerable to every attack of the devil. How can he win? How can nature engage in a spiritual war with a spirit? It seems unbalanced. It's not fair.

It's not so for the child of God. He has a Holy Ghost in him. This Holy Ghost is the promise of the Father through Lord Jesus Christ who when he was leaving the earth gave him to us to help us in this spiritual battle. "But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things," (John 14:26, KJV). He's our Helper. The Helper of the weak. So we shall forever boast in our weakness. It's only when we are weak that we see the strength of God (2 Corinthians 9).

For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10, ESV)

Therefore my friend in Christ, "be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead". There will be joy unspeakable that cannot be compared to the toil we are in now. All we need is to keep our gaze on the Savior. He's the Source of our strength in this battle. We have the Helper, the Advocate, the Comforter at our side and victory is assured. That's why we always head on to war to win.

We have the assurance in the resurrection power of Jesus. Though that we are assaulted from all angles, we still stand joyfully. Remember not to "lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16, ESV). This is important to us because the bodies are not needed in this battle. Leave it to decay and let the spirit live.

Sin is always buffeting the saint. It drains him to a point that sometimes he thinks he's not even a son of God. But remember that "the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." (Hebrews 12:6, ESV). Listen to what Paul said to the Corinthians.

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! (2 Corinthians 12:7, NASB)

Let's, therefore, count it joy when these circumstances come into our lives. There will be victory one day. For we are going to see him as HE is and enjoy eternity with HIM forever and ever (1 John 3:2). It's in the light of this glory ahead that we don't lose hope.

For the joy ahead is far greater than the sufferings we are in now. Fight this fight with all your strength. Dedicate your all for it's worth it. Apply the whole armor of God and you'll surely triumph.

This is @gadol from @sc-g and @ghana


source of image