If I wanted to win the ultimate war, the war for my soul, where would I begin? The world was so confusing and God was so mysterious, but there had to be someway to figure it all out, so I tried. This is what I found.
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen. -Romans 11: 33-36
In my freedom I became a slave, in my obedience I became free.
By faith, through grace I received the call. Was my choice predestined? Was the outcome? I understood victory in spiritual warfare for the hearts and souls of humanity had already been won, but the battle for my soul raged on.
I was armed to the teeth and knew I could claim victory in Jesus, but still I had to fight!
Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 13; Romans 11; Jeremiah 50; Psalms 28–29
The world is filled with intrigues, conflicts and wars, propelled and justified by self righteousness, self pity and lust for worldly things like personal power which is perhaps the most intoxicating thing over all. Even religion, at times, is used to justify a whole host of heinous activities. If we search our hearts we will discover the true battle ground is within us, it is there we either choose to surrender our lives to the greater glory of God, or refuse.
In a world like ours, I find it impossible to ignore the Bible, it’s the best selling book of all time and the spiritual history of the world. Finding truth in God’s word is an absolute joy. Discovering the source of its power is life changing. It has helped me to see how Jesus is the center of everything, even as the weight of our culture and the wiring of my flesh pulls me in the opposite direction.
In the text for Thursday I read about predestination in Romans 8: 28-30. While I’m not exactly sure what it means to be predestined, if I was or wasn’t isn’t the point. And while I hope that I was predestined to live in the grace and power of God, this is something I believe we all have the freedom to chose at some point in our lives. But this choice doesn’t take me out of my daily battle for truth and righteousness, it puts me in the center of it. That is where I choose to live, that is where I choose to fight.