The Quest For Truth

So many times we think that we need to struggle to overcome our environment and our surroundings. We feel that the day will come when we will overcome. But that is not what we are supposed to believe. Jesus said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” That means that we too have overcome the world through Christ. Because He lives in us we share in His victory. We have to accept this blessed fact by faith. Praise God that you have overcome the world. It may not seem to be true but nevertheless God’s word stands. As you apply faith this fact will become clearer to you and you will enjoy the victory of Christ over the world. Now we don’t need to fight to overcome the world. We put on the whole armor of God to withstand the enemy and stand on our ground as victors over the world and over every circumstance that comes against us.

The Christian life is not a fight to overcome any foe or enemy. It is not a struggle wherein the victory lies in the future. Our fight is a fight to hold the ground that Christ won for us on the cross. The victory has already been won and now our job is to maintain that victory at any cost. So before we start out to wrestle the enemy we have to find out what is the ground that we are supposed to hold. The victory that we have to hold on to is the finished work of Christ on the cross. We have to realize our new identity as Christians. We are now saints. We are righteous in Christ. We are more than conquerors. Because Christ has overcome the world we also have overcome the world. Sin, disease and sickeness are now underneath us. We have to accept these things by faith because the Bible says that the just shall live by faith. It is by accepting these things by faith that we position ourselves to fight the enemy. We should not look at our experiences but rather substantiate the victory of Christ in our life by faith. The experiences will change as we keep on applying faith. So realize that you don’t need to conquer to become a conqueror. You are already a conqueror and a king and priest in the sight of God because of what Christ accomplished for you. So take up your weapons and fight to hold the ground that Christ has won for you.

The Christian life is a life of rest but at the same time it is also a life of fighting. We have to fight the good fight of faith and the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. But in all these we depend on the Spirit to lead us in the battle. We fight and we win because we fight from the standpoint of rest in the victory of Christ. We can handle the pressures and the trials of life because in the inner man God supplies us the strength. There is a strength that is not natural to the people of the world because we are resting in Christ. They think that they can break us but God steps into the situation when we are thrown into the fire. The greater the battle the closer God becomes to us. In the midst of our darkest moments we can rest assure that God is there waiting to reveal His glory in us. Nothing can shake us because we do not fight with human strength. We fight our battles with faith knowing that the victory is ours for we cannot fail when God is with us. The most common mistake that Christians make is that they think they have to fight the battle with their own resources and strength. But the moment we look at ourselves we will fail. We have to fight the battle with not only faith but also patience. We have to rest in faith and wait for the Spirit of God to move us. Through practice we will come to the place where we make fewer mistakes and hit the mark more often. With each victory our confidence in the leading of the Spirit will increase and we will start fighting the good fight of faith at higher levels. As you move from resting to fighting be prepared to suffer hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Recognise the hand of God in allowing every difficulty and trouble in your path to perfect you and make you pure as gold. Those people whom you cannot handle have been allowed into your life to perfect you. They are there to sharpen your rough edges. Don’t move into the flesh and try to handle the situation in your own strength. Search the scriptures, seek the mind of God and apply what you learn in those difficult situations and God will give you wisdom. But as long as you move in the flesh and lash out and take matters into your own hands, you will not accomplish the will of God in your life. We have to fight with the wisdom of God and the leading of the Spirit. We are more than conquerors because even death cannot defeat us. The very hairs of our heads have been numbered so that the enemy cannot touch us unless God permits. And whatever God permits will be for His glory and for the advancement of His church and kingdom so that His will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The life of a Christian is joy and peace and strength from the Lord. But there is another side to it and that is struggle in the Spirit. God is a progressive God and so, He is always on the move. If we want to move with God we have to be ready to live a life of exploits and overcoming. This brings us to the struggle we are talking about. It is not a struggle of the flesh but divinely inspired struggle. We have to be continuously moving in the inner man even though at times it might be at a snail’s pace. The journey is a lifelong struggle to bring the will of God on this earth. It is a struggle for freedom in the lives of people and for justice, righteousness and the character of God to be displayed in our lives. But in all this struggle there is the power of God which moves us. We are struggling not in our own strength but in the strength of God. It is a struggle to move to newer heights and conquer more ground for the Kingdom of God. The struggle is real because the opposition is real. We are wrestling with the powers of darkness, with principalities and powers and rulers of the other world. But each victory brings us closer to the finish line and finally we will be able to say like the Apostle Paul that we have finished the race, we have kept the faith and now there is a crown waiting for us.

The sure sign of a healthy spiritual life is calmness in the inner man. We have to refuse to be moved by the flesh and instead move by the Spirit. How do we know when we are moving in the flesh and in the Spirit? When we move in the flesh there is usually a struggle and uneasiness in what we are doing. We have to make an effort to do anything. This is living in the flesh. When we are moving in the Spirit, there is a freedom and we soar like an eagle. We accomplish more and do more. We know in our inner man that we are at rest. The temptation to most of us is to move in the flesh and do something for God. So we move prematurely, like Moses did when he killed the Egyptian or like Abraham did by bringing Ishamel into this world who was the son of the flesh as the Apostle Paul said. When we feel like nothing is happening, we have to remain still and wait for the strength of God to move us. How do we know all this? You will know because the Spirit of God resides in you and He will teach you all things. You will have to learn to trust the leading of the Spirit in the inner man. We might make mistakes but we will learn from them. We have to refuse to do anything in the flesh and in our own strength even though it might be a good thing and the most logical thing to do at that moment. God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than ours. So, learn to move in the Spirit and you will have peace in the inner man. There will be a sweet calm that covers your life. Mountains will be removed and nothing shall move you for you have learned to trust God in everything. You will have the calmness of God that comes as a result of faith and trust in Him and refusing to move in the flesh.

It is true that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. But it is also true that we cannot make the “hearing” a “work”. We may listen to cds and tapes to the extent where we are trying to manufacture faith as a product of our hearing. But God does not want us to live like that because that is not what faith is. Faith is simple trust and belief. There is no formula or magic in it. And if we fall short why can’t we pray like the man in the Bible who prayed “Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.” It is so simple that many a times we stumble upon that truth. We find it hard to believe that the things of God are so simple that it is easily understood even by a small child. If you find that your faith is lacking, just pray a simple prayer asking God to help your unbelief. And you will be pleasantly surprised that God Himself makes your faith complete because does not the Bible say that He Himself is the author and finisher of our faith? Trust Him to come through where you fall short even in the matter of your faith.

Christ demands absolute surrender from every believer. We have to reach the state where we are willing to do anything for Christ as He commands. We have to give up all self efforts in the Christian life. For all the good works that we produce in our own human self efforts will be burned in the day of judgement. What a waste it will be if that is the case for us. We have to inspect our lives and see that we are strenously working with the mighty power of Christ that works in us. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes if we are living the Christian life in our own strength.

Faith is a state of rest. So many people struggle to have faith but faith does not come that way. We have to rest in God to exercise faith. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat when His disciples woke Him up because of the tempest. Faith can sleep in the midst of the disturbances and trouble in our life. It is aware of every problem but it is not disturbed by them. Rather it rests in the awareness of God’s presence and His ever very present help.

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

1 Corinthians 1:30

The above verse says that Christ has been made unto us holiness. We all know as Christians that we ought to be holy but seldom do we find the way. The proper way to receive holiness is by faith in the finished work of Christ. Christ has done everything for us on the cross. His death has achieved what we could not achieve through human effort. All our struggles and strivings to be holy are in vain if we do not have faith. In order to be holy we have to first believe that Christ has made us holy through the cross. Our conduct may say something different but we have to remember that our conduct can be changed. As a man thinketh in his heart so is he. We have to get our thoughts on the truth. And the truth is that God has made us holy in Christ. We can be holy only when we believe that we are already holy in Christ. It is not because of anything that we have in us but because of the free grace available in Christ. By grace we have already been made holy. We have to believe the word of God and not look at our experiences. Our experiences will change as we apply faith and believe that God has already made us holy in  Christ. This is faith producing works.

Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (^[a]definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

⁷And God’s peace [shall be yours, that ^[b]tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall ^[c]garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Worry is an entertaining habit for some people. But if we are like that we should know that we are sinning in the sight of God. We have to learn to live lives without any care. When we get to the state where we are not disturbed about anything, we will find great peace and joy in the Lord. We have to surrender everyday our cares and worries to the Lord. We have to cast our burden on the Lord and believe that He will take care of everything. Faith is something that God really delights in and He will bless you richly when you learn to trust Him for everything in life.