Will you be one who endures?

Chapter Fifty-nine:

With today's modern technology, it is very easy to keep up not only with what is happening in the local news, but we can get instantaneous news updates from every part of the world,  even as the events are actually unfolding.   This availability of technology can be overwhelming at times.  There are probably times in your life, if you have access to such technology and availability of information, that you feel like you need to just shut if off for a while because it can become so overwhelming.

Unfortunately, many believers are doing  that on a spiritual level. Even though we realize the  Church continues to become more like the world and less like how God desires the Body of Christ to be, we find that it is easier and less stressful to simply ignore what is going on around us.  We hope that if we can ignore it, it will make our lives less complicated and more manageable as the world is becoming a harder place in which to live. We can find many things to blame for what is happening, whether it be politics, the lowered standard of morals we see around us or how society has become more materialistic and less interested in the things of God.  So, why is it becoming harder to live this life of ours to the point that we feel the need to tune out?

The cause, the reason behind what we are seeing and experiencing in the world today is simply this...the attack by the enemy of God, Satan, is ongoing and is getting much stronger.  The spiritual forces that are against God are setting their aim against not only anyone who may be considering becoming a believer,  but particularly against every true believer and every Bible believing Church and some of us do not want to acknowledge that fact.  And if we do not want to acknowledge it, why on earth would we want to live our lives as though we were in some type of war, which is exactly the situation. We have allowed the desires and cares of this world and the stress of everyday life to keep our focus off of spiritual matters, and most importantly, spiritual readiness.

Please remember that just because we do not actively go out of our way to bother the enemy does not mean that he will stop carrying out his plans to try to destroy us.  He will not stop harassing us just because we do not want to get involved.  While we may think that if we can manage to stay out of things that we will remain untouched, the actual opposite is going to happen.  If we are unprepared for what Scripture tells us is going on, we will find ourselves in a bad predicament. We will be like the soldier who had to fight in the war that he wanted no part of, but in realizing he could not avoid it, found he was unprepared for it and suddenly wished with all his heart that he had been preparing for it.

Matthew 24:3 tells of how the disciples approached Jesus and asked Him what the signs of the end times would be.  He told them of wars, rumors of wars, and how believers would be hated by all nations for His name's sake. Stop and think about this for a minute.  We have become so accustomed to hearing about another war or turbulent times that we just tune it out.  But what about where Jesus warns that believers will be hated because of their choosing to follow Him? It should worry us that we are possibly unprepared and simply not ready for what is going to happen to us if we continue to stand with Christ.  We cannot hide from it and we cannot ignore it or wish it away. So we really only have  one option....to be prepared.

How do we prepare? We must be a people who walk close with our Lord in prayer, and who are in tune with the Holy Spirit for His promptings, leading and guidance .  We must be a people who study the Bible in order to be fed spiritually.  We must fast and pray and seek the Lord's face to find out what He would have us do. 

We must be a people who recognize that there are things happening all about us in the unseen realms, particularly as we are going about our normal, daily routines. It is easy to let our guard down when we feel our lives are just going along and not much is happening.  It is then that the enemy is more likely to attack because he will find us in a state of unpreparedness. We must be a people who have made the decision that we are willing to go to battle. We must be a people who do all we can to remain spiritually strong. And all the while we are doing these things we must remember to not allow fear to enter into our hearts as that will be our Achilles heel.

One of the main weapons the enemy tries to use against believers is fear, because he knows it  leads to our doubting and questioning God rather than standing alongside Him in the battle and being in tune with what He wants us to do.  Satan will do whatever he can to try to dissuade us,  distract us, and to ultimately  get us to walk away because it is all too much to deal with. But remember, we are taught in Scripture that the battle is ultimately the Lord's and it is He who will prevail, but we still must play an important part in all of this. We are to be His foot soldiers, doing what He commands.  Second Timothy 2:4 says, " No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer." In other words, we have to be working alongside God and be open to being used by Him and not allow our daily, earthly concerns get in the way. 

Charles Spurgeon said, " The Christian soldier hath no gun and no sword, for he fighteth not with men.  It is with 'spiritual wickedness in high places' that he fights, and with other principalities and powers than with those that sit on thrones and hold sceptres in their hands."

We are to fight the good fight.  Matthew 24:13 challenges us when it says "But he who endures to the end shall be saved." It implies that it will not be easy and that some will decide to give up,  give in and walk away. We must not allow our earthly concerns, or lack of desire to be involved, to be what keeps us from fighting and enduring to the end. We are promised in the Scriptures that what awaits us is far more worthwhile and everlasting than what we could ever hope to attain in this world.