Revelation 13:10 may appear fatalistic in nature to many. It may appear to some as the image of one who has given up to determinism; fate has become the master of the person and the person is resigned to it, but nothing could be further from the truth. The text says, “If anyone is taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.”
Now, if the text ended here I might agree in the fatalistic reading, but it does not. God gives us the proper mind set, the proper take away from this text and by doing so, points us away from fatalism toward the highest hope possible. He says, “Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” In other words, because God has ordained that some will find their victory through captivity and some will find their victory through martyrdom, they should strive to endure their suffering; they should exercise their faith in the midst of great trials knowing that their trials are leading them to an everlasting crown of righteousness and an eternal weight of glory.
This thought brings me great encouragement and motivates to more diligent and selfless service under Christ. I can’t help but think how souls can be saved, lives can be changed and nations can be redeemed by the selfless sacrifice of Christ’s followers, who know that if they suffer for the cause of Christ, that suffering is propelling them toward glory.
I pray today that it might be said of me that my work in the Kingdom of God was evidence that I loved not my life even unto death (Revelation 12:11). I’m not asking to be a martyr. I am asking to be what God has providential decreed that I will be and that I will be such with endurance and faith.
It has been a while sense I last wrote a blog post. I have been engaged in other studies, responsibilities and writing activities, but as I was reading this morning I came across a word from John Bunyan that I wanted to share with you. The thought espoused by Bunyan is one that was first most clearly revealed to me in “The Baptist Confession of 1689”
It should be noted that at the time of writing this thought, Bunyan could not find comfort in it for he was convinced that he had committed that one sin that could not be forgiven. Nevertheless, this thought has been one of the most blessed thoughts for my soul and has done more to encourage me in my battle with the flesh than most other things. Bunyan writes:
Now I saw, that as God had His hand in all the providences and dispensations that overtook His elect; so He had His hand in all the temptations that they had to sin against Him; not to animate them to wickedness, but to choose their temptations and troubles for them; and also to leave them for a time, to such sins only that might not destroy, but humble them; as might not put them beyond, but lay them in the way of His renewing mercy. But oh! what love, what care, what kindness and mercy did I now see mixing itself with the most sever and dreadful of all God’s ways to His people! (Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners #157)
To know that even when I loose a battle with temptation I am still in the sovereign hands of God being moved by His providence toward His mercy…this is a great comfort to me and the very truth that encourages and drives me to my father when I have sinned. Without this truth seated in my heart, my sins would always drive me further from God, but now I know that my sins not only do not condemn me, but are part of God’s way of bringing me into His presence to experience His great mercy.
Praise Him!
Making decisions in life can be a difficult task. As a follower of Christ it is very important to me that I make decisions, which are within the will of God. I spend a lot of time thinking about and trying to discern God’s will for my life. However, this past week I was confronted by a hard truth, a truth that forced me and then helped me to approach decisions in life and really my very future with a much more “at peace” mentality.
The truth that confronted me is that I often express my desire to know God’s will for my life, when I already have an idea in my mind what it is or should be, and I am really only looking for a confirmation of that fact. In essence, I am saying, ‘God, Make your will match with my will.’
Well, it doesn’t take much mental gymnastics to understand the error of this mindset. Nevertheless, I don’t think I am alone in the approach. We really do want to know what our future holds, but we want it to fit with what we envision that our future should be. So we work hard trying to discern our gifts, looking for open doors that will allow us to us those gifts and making sure that those open doors lead to places in which we will be happy.
I have found that I am most unhappy when I take this approach to life. That is why the idea that it is better to concentrate on being guided by God than discovering His will is so comforting. It reminds me that, indeed, God is my guide. Psalm 23:3 tells us that God guides for His name’s sake. His name is important to Him. Its magnification above all other things is of premiere import, influencing everything He does. That, being the truth that it is, brings me a high level of confidence that as He guides me, He guides me well.
Coupled with the truth of Psalm 139:7-10, that I cannot escape God’s guidance and that he will never guide me to a place where He is not, His good guidance becomes a thing in which I can rest. I no longer have try to discern His will for my life so that I can make sure it is what will best for me. Now, I can rest at ease in my Father, knowing that He is always guiding and wherever he leads me there He will go too, and I will be blessed there. That is comfort to my soul and makes decision making a much less stressful activity.
