After every night the day dawns, bringing new hopes, opportunities and resources to start a new story of life in us. Lord Jesus specifically warned us not to worry about tomorrow or the day gone by for today is the day for us to walk in God’s power to scale new heights. The day may start on a good or a sad note but who knows what all God can do in our lives by evening. Joseph woke up in the prison but slept in a palace that night as the Prime Minister of Egypt. Once we refuse to be bound by such shackles, God can help us move forward.
Being strong in times of instability – A believer has the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit working in him to guide and lead him on the right paths. We have free-will to do what we want to do and the path we want to follow. We only have to decide the way of life for us and the choices we make have consequences. After examining all that God had made, He declared, ‘indeed it was very good’ (Genesis 1:31). But then He noticed a flaw and said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone’ (Genesis 2:18). The woman was then made by God to be his partner and the family unit started with the birth of their children. In the world, everyone is part of a large global family and a ripple of good or evil, in one place, affects others also. It is not only our own mistakes that make us fall, but the difficult circumstances created by some affect everyone.
Professor Abraham Joshua Heschel moved out of Warsaw just before it was occupied by Hitler’s forces during the Second World War. He lost almost all members of his family and said, ‘If a man is not more than human, then he is less than human’. Either we climb up to a place higher than and beyond ourselves or we are likely to fall to a level lower than that expected of a human being. Having been created in the ‘image and likeness of God’ with the breath of God being our life force, we are expected to rise to great heights above our visible potential. But when we fall victim to the lies of the devil, destroying the holiness of the soul, we lose touch with the Divine and become servants of the devil. There is no limit for anyone to rise up to, for God is in heaven and there is no limit for the fall of a human being, for the location of hell is supposed to be below the earth.
The Holy Bible is full of the stories of failure, great fall and getting up to scale great heights by normal human beings who were like us. Samson was blessed by God with extraordinary strength to fight the Philistines. In aner against the Philistines, he caught three hundred foxes, tied them ‘tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails’ (Judges 15:4-5). He set the foxes into the standing crops of the enemy, causing great damage through fire. However, having been tricked by Delilah, he was captured, bound and blinded by the Philistines (Judges 16:21-30). The Philistines gathered together in the temple of their god, Dagon, and Samson was brought before them as a source of entertainment. He was led by a young boy and placed between the two pillars that supported the whole building. He sought the boy to let him touch and feel the pillars. From that blind and weak state, he prayed to the LORD to strengthen him just once more. He pushed the pillars with his God-given might and the temple fell on the three thousand men and women, who were lords of the Philistines, killing all of them. He could rise again for that one moment from the ashes of despair and destroy the enemy in a large number.
It is not that we should seek the help of God to take vengeance on the enemy but rather to rise and move forward to fulfil the destiny. God is a God of second chances and the way out of darkness is invariably through it. We submit to God and with His help overcome the odds. The only one who cannot rise is the devil and his demonic forces, for they have been cast out of heaven to the earth, with no chance to get back. In like manner, those who are submitted to them are also unable to get up and the voice of evil keeps dragging them down into the same pit. It is said that two frogs fell down in a pit and one of them was hard of hearing. Both started jumping upwards to come out, but were unable to do so. The other frogs outside started shouting to tell them about the difficulty and their inability to come out. The one who could hear, finally, gave up and sat down, while the partially deaf one thought that he was being encouraged by others from outside. He kept trying and finally with one leap jumped out of the pit and started thanking them for helping him come out. When we are down, it is our perception of the situation that helps us find the way out or remain trapped in it.
David was a young boy, sent by his father, Jesse, to carry food items to his brothers. The whole Israelite army saw Goliath as a giant but David saw him as an ‘un circumcised Philistine’ (1 Samuel 17:26-50). He saw himself as one of God’s people protected by His covenant, while Goliath was out of it and thus fit to be defeated in the strength of God. We are chosen by God and when we compare our sinful nature with the Holy God, we are filled with wonder for having been even noticed by Him. Our closeness to an earthly leader makes us feel great, our drawing closer to the Almighty God makes us humble. We start our self-evaluation and turning to Him for help, to be transformed.
The disciples after having struggled against a storm the whole night, saw Lord Jesus walking on the water towards them (Matthew 14:24-32). Apostle Peter sought permission, stepped out of the boat and walked on water. But when he looked at the storm, fear gripped him and he went under water. Lord Jesus answered his cry for help ‘stretched out His hand and caught him’. When we suffer in like manner, the best and the only option for a believer is to cry put to the Lord for help and rescue. His promises are true for He is the truth. It is with this in mind, King David could say, ‘I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your Word above all Your name’ (Psalm 138:2). God does not change and His Word also cannot, and filled with joy and faith, we move forward in life.
Overcoming guilt of the past and rise to great height – Prophet Micah has given the way by answering the enemy, both physical and the spiritual, ‘Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me’ (Micah 7:8). Satan wants us to keep remembering the past and be chained to that and thus be restrained to moving forward. We must remember, ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us’ (Psalm 103:12). This was fulfilled in the sacrifice of Lord Jesus on the cross as ‘that Lamb of God’, who took away our sins. The prophesies about His work were all fulfilled in Him through His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven.
Every hindrance or obstacle in our path of life comes with the approval of God and is to train and equip us to attain great heights decreed for us by God. We also must pray and seek the Lord’s help in understanding the lessons to be learnt. We learn and move on in His strength. King David sinned with Bathsheba, got her husband killed by exposing him to the enemy. Prophet Nathan confronted him for this and without making any excuses, he said, ‘I have sinned against the LORD’ (2 Samuel 12:1-13). Repenting of his sin, King David could pray to the LORD God, ‘Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is always before me’. He could come out of the pit of despair, worship God and live as the forgiven sinner, without getting stuck in the past. Once God forgives our sins, He chooses to remember them no more.
After having failed in his attempts at making the Son of God fall into temptations, ‘he departed from Him until an opportune time’ (Luke 4:13). The devil must have rejoiced at the crucifixion of the Lord, for until then after death, everyone had been in his captivity, though the righteous were separated from the eternal fires of hell. The Son of God, though bearing our sins, the fires of hell could not touch Him. When He walked over to Abraham and others, for only He being sinless could, the light of His glory filled the darkness of Hades, filling the devil and his demons with great fear. The devil keeps trying to attack our minds with evil thoughts, our hearts with evil desires, our souls with evil longings and our bodies with evil lusts. He aims to keep us suppressed by the past to spoil our present and the future. We counter his lies with the truth of God’s Word. The Spirit of the same God who raised His Son from the dead ‘will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you’ (Romans 8:11). With this mighty power working in and with us, we are able to overcome all types of darkness and walk in His light.
Reasons for failure to overcome evil thoughts and desires – Certain women from Galilee supported the work of Lord Jesus ‘from their substance’ (Luke 8:2-3). Among them was Mary Magdalene, ‘out of whom had come seven demons’. Though there is nothing adverse about her, she has been branded by various labels. She was faithful in following the Lord and was accepted as part of the group of disciples, though not as one of them. It was her love for and commitment to the Lord that early in the morning on Sunday, she was at the tomb where He was buried (John 20:1-17). Apostle Peter and John came, after she informed them about the tomb being empty, and returned. She was the only one who refused to leave and was weeping and then saw the two angels in the tomb.
We have been redeemed and freed from the bondage of sin and the devil, ‘Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption’ (Hebrews 9:12). This Most Holy Place where He offered His blood is in heaven. The Son of God is our High Priest in heaven and the earthly High Priest could enter into the presence of God with the offering of the blood of animals to present on the altar in the Most Holy Place and that too only once a year (Hebrews 8:1-5). Moses was shown the heavenly Temple and then commanded by God to make the Tabernacle, the earthly dwelling place for God among them as an exact replica of the one above. He was told, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain’.
After resurrection the most important work for Lord Jesus was to offer His own blood on the heavenly altar to ensure completion of His work of redemption of mankind. But He saw the pain and anguish of Mary Magdalene’s heart and stopped to console her. In her grief she saw Him standing there and failed to recognise Him but could identify His voice when He called her by her name (John 20:11-17). She was warned by the Lord not to touch Him for ‘I have not yet ascended to My Father’. The mere touch of a sinful human being could defile the whole process. After Lord Jesus came back the same day, He could allow anyone to touch Him and even eat with the two disciples in Emmaus.
Our God is a loving God who comes looking for the one lost sheep, lost in pain, suffering and separation to get him back into His presence (Matthew 18:12-13). He does not want even one of His children to fall and then remain in that state for long. Apostle Peter denied the Lord three times even with curses but when the rooster crowed, despite His own pain and suffering, He turned and looked at him (Luke 22:61-62). This was a look of understanding and love to encourage and not condemn him. Lord Jesus met the disciples on the shore of the sea of Galilee and helped them by His Word, to catch fish in abundance (John 21:5-17). When they came on shore, He already had fish and bread for their breakfast. After feeding them, He asked Apostle Peter three times, ‘do you love Me’. The first two times He used the word ‘agape’, the love that God has for us, a love of commitment and seeking nothing in return. Apostle Peter declared ‘phileo’ love for the Lord, a love that two friends have for each other, for His earlier confidence in himself was shattered. The third time the Lord asked Him using this same word ‘phileo’ to ask him to commit to that only. Our Lord comes in our fallen state down to our level to lift us up by accepting whatever manner of love and commitment we can offer.
Ego means ‘Easing God out’ and in our self-confident attitude we keep God away. To a self-absorbed person everything is his right, for he considers himself worthy of all that. The spiritually mature person sees the kindness of God and His gifts as His love to draw him closer. The closer we get to the Lord, the more we realise our own insignificance in comparison to His Divine presence. Then we seek Him to draw us closer and closer.
We are required to push a negative thought of unworthiness with both hands, with a deliberate action. By getting into a discussion with such thoughts is to recognise their worth and thus, get locked into avoidable self-criticism, guilt, shame and stress. Using only one hand is to push but also call back with the other hand. In the Garden of Eden, Eve had no reason to get into a dialogue with the serpent about what God desired from them. Joseph told his dream and was sold into slavery and when we start declaring our plans to others, our slavery starts. After that the forces of evil will never let us focus on that and complete and create undue hurdles. A personal communication with God is sacred and must be considered as such.
Our Saviour, our Good Shepherd stands at the door of all those in a fallen and weak state (Revelation 3:20). When we cry out to Him, He enters to share all His resources with us to lift us up. He is ready to lift us and pull us out of the pit but that can happen only when we grab His hand.
Nothing in this whole universe can ever be out of and beyond the control of the Most-High God. He keeps His gaze fixed on us both, during our sufferings and also the day of joyous celebrations. He is always close, extending His hand of help to lift us higher than the place we are in. In our eagerness to succeed in our own efforts and strength, we ignore the help of the One, God, who alone has the answer to every situation. Once we retain our focus on Him and Him alone, we are raised out of the pit to great heights!
