Our world is an a situation right now where there are a lot a challenges and contradictions that would make it look like our freedom in Christ is not a reality. They try to steal your confidence, joy and knowing and replace them with doubt and uncertainty.
But as a Christian, you are truly FREE in Christ, even when it doesn’t look like it.
Do you have COVID? You’re still free. Been in a car wreck? You’re still free! Dealing with financial challenges? Regardless, you are still free!
When physical challenges occur, there’s a tendency (even in the Body of Christ) to think those circumstances are a reflection of some kind of change in a person’s eternal position; but, the Word of God is clear that this is not the case!
Back in the 1980s, there was false teaching going around saying, “If you’re truly believing, praying and tithing and giving of your life, then nothing back will happen to you.” Sadly, that teaching still persists today, and it’s simply not scriptural.
Think about the Apostle Paul for a moment. He wrote about two-thirds of the New Testament. He had amazing things happen in his ministry, from healings to resurrections to ultimately reaching countless millions because of what he wrote. YET, his physical circumstances weren’t exactly perfect at all times, were they?
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul recounts some of the circumstances he’s been in: He was in prison many times, received 39 stripes from lashings five times, was beaten with rods three times, was stoned, was shipwrecked three times, in various perils, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness, in hunger and thirst, cold and naked.
If you looked at Paul’s surroundings and what you saw of his life in the natural, you might think, “That can’t be right! Paul must be out of God’s will! He must not be doing something right; God must be teaching him something!” But that kind of thinking is “religious” thinking, not God’s thoughts!
People who think that way live their lives, but when something bad happens, it knocks them off course in their belief because they’re thinking, “How could God let this happen to me?” They start questioning God. But the fact is, the presence of contradiction doesn’t mean you’re positioned away from God.
I think Christians would agree that Jesus was with God (John 1:1 is pretty clear about that). Yet He suffered tremendously! Does that mean He was out of His Father’s will? Of course not!
I think Paul was doing exactly what God wanted him to do…but the world didn’t like it. The world doesn’t like it when you speak TRUTH because that truth – light – exposes what is being hid by the darkness.
Even when Paul’s life didn’t look victorious at times, he was because of what Jesus did on the Cross! Paul’s situation did not define his value or worth. Jesus Christ did when He died on the Cross!
“Paul’s situation did not define his value or worth. Jesus Christ did…”
As Christians, we need to stand firm on God’s truth, regardless of circumstances! As a friend (who was in the midst of a pneumonia attack on their body when they said this), “I refuse to lower my standard of the Word to meet my experience so that I can feel better about my circumstances.”
Amen to that!
“But we thank God for giving us the victory as conquerors though our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. So now, beloved, stand firm, stable, and enduring. Live your lives with an unshakable confidence. We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive with fruit that endures.” – 1 CORINTHIANS 15:57-58 (TPT)
In the first part of this scripture, the Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians that God has given them the victory through Jesus. Yet in the very next sentence, he tells people to stand firm, stable and enduring.
In the midst of challenge and contradiction, give God’s Word more attention than the contradiction!
The Mirror Bible says it nicely with James 1:19. It reads, “Consequently my beloved friends, when you are faced with temptation” (which can be defined as contradiction, note), “give your immediate attention to the Word that reveals your true origin; do not ponder the contradiction. Rather, remain silent, than to quickly give your vote and voice to the emotions that arise in the heat of the moment!”
In this world of challenges and contradictions, keep focused on God’s Word! Your current situation does not change your eternal position with God!
To watch the entire August 22, 2021 message on which this post is based, CLICK HERE.
