The Invisible War

Scriptures: Hebrews 11:39-40, Jeremiah 29:11, Revelation 7

When You Feel Like Giving Up

It’s not easy to live by faith. We live in a broken world. The weather doesn’t work right. Our bodies don’t work right. Our relationships don’t work right. 

When God kicked Adam out of Heaven, he told Adam that life would be hard. And it is. There’s a cosmic battle for your life going on inside of you and outside of you. You battle with your own sinful nature. You also battle against Satan himself, who wants nothing more than to “steal, kill, and destroy.”

And sometimes it just gets to us. We just want to give up. 

But in Hebrews 11, God urges us to hang on, because God hasn’t forgotten us and will fulfill his promises one day. He promises to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). He promises to take away our tears (Revelation 7). And he gives us multiple other promises throughout his Word. 

Hebrews 11 mentions a variety of biblical heroes who demonstrated faith in God’s promises — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Gideon, Samson, and others. Though they endured many difficulties, they kept going in their spiritual journeys. 

Then Hebrews 11:39-40 says, “All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us” (NLT). 

Scriptures: Hebrews 12:1, 2 Chronicles 16:9

Your Heavenly Cheering Squad

Home field advantage can mean everything in sports. Teams who are at home often have a far better record than those on the road. When a team has someone cheering them on, they can often outplay their ability. 

The Bible says that you, too, have an audience cheering you on. Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (NLT).

Nothing you do is private. You have an audience. Heaven is watching. But, more importantly, you have a cheering section. The Bible says that everyone in Heaven is cheering you on. 

You probably realize that God knows everything. The Bible says “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (2 Chronicles 16:9 KJV). The Lord doesn’t miss a thing. He knows your ups and your downs — your everything. He knows every thought you have. 

But you’re also surrounded by “a huge cloud of witnesses to this life of faith.” Moses is watching you. Abraham is watching you. Every believer who has ever lived is in the stands watching you live out your faith.

And they’re cheering you on. When you’re scared, they’re rooting for you to be courageous. When you want to give up, they’re urging you to keep going. When you feel insignificant and forgotten, they’re in your corner. 

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1

The Word “No” Is Important For Your Spiritual Journey

The most important word to remember for your spiritual journey may be a surprising one — no.

Your faith journey is a long one. Too many people start off well in their spiritual journey but putter out before the end. God wants you to go the distance. 

You’ve got a marathon ahead of you, and you can’t run the marathon with a barbell in your hands. Often people quit their faith journey early because everything they’re carrying wears them out.

We need to de-clutter.

A cruise liner can get pretty fast in the middle of the water. If you add a hundred lifeboats to it, it’ll slow down. Plug a battery into one light bulb, and it’ll go a long way. Plug it into 15, and it drains much more quickly. Plug it into 100, and it’ll drain even more quickly.

That’s what happens to us when we try to do too much. Sometimes doing good keeps us from doing the best.

Weights aren’t bad; they’re not sinful. They’re just unnecessary. It could be a job, a relationship, or a hobby. It’s something that slows you down from what God wants from your life. And they’re not worth it. 

Scriptures: Ephesians 6:12, Romans 7:24-25

Winning The War Inside Of You

You may not realize it, but you’re at war. You may not wear military fatigues. You may not eat at a mess hall. You may not dodge physical bullets.

But you’re in a war — an invisible one. It’s called spiritual warfare. You’ll be in the war from the moment you’re born until the moment you die. 

The Bible tells us that you have three mortal enemies out to destroy your life and everything God wants to do through it:

• The world — the dominant value system around us• The flesh — the old nature within you• The Devil — a real being that’s out to “kill, steal, and destroy” along with his demonic minions.

The victory for the war you’re in won’t come through bullets or tactics. (Ephesians 6:12 NIV).

In this war, all that matters is Jesus. He has to be the general of your life, the one in charge of the battle plan. You may be a believer, but that’s not enough for this war. Jesus has to be your Lord, too. 

Many people believe in Jesus. But to find victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil, Jesus has to be more than just someone you believe in.

The answer to the all-consuming battle you’re in isn’t a self-help seminar, a new book, a conference, a psychology, or a therapy. It’s Jesus. Make him your boss. Paul, who wrote the book of Romans, makes it clear he is at the end of his rope. He can’t win the battle on his own. His only hope is “Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Bible says it’s Jesus, the Lord, who will deliver you, too. It’s time to put a sign over your life: “Under new management.” 

Scriptures: 1 John 1:8, Jeremiah 17:9

Let Go Of Your Self-defeating Lies

We lie to ourselves all the time: “I haven’t gained any weight. I’m not hurting anyone. No one even noticed.”

But one lie is more dangerous than most: “It’s not really a problem.” You tell yourself that your finances aren’t a problem, your marriage isn’t in trouble, and your temper isn’t out of control.

Lying to ourselves is the number one way we mess up our lives. The Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NIV). Sin causes us to deceive ourselves, and deception causes us to sin. 

Behind every self-defeating act in our lives is a lie we’ve believed. Either we’ve lied to ourselves or we’ve believed one of Satan’s lies. The Bible says our heart is “deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9). You and I have an amazing ability to lie to ourselves.

So stop it! Stop rationalizing. Stop minimizing your behavior. Stop excusing. Stop tolerating.

To stop defeating yourself — doing all of those self-defeating behaviors that cripple your ability to follow Jesus faithfully — you have to stop deceiving yourself. Jesus said, “When you know the truth, the truth will set your free.” But first, the truth will make you miserable! You can’t be free from what you can’t admit exists.

You can’t beat the problem if you’re lying to yourself about it. 

Scripture: James 5:16

You Need A Battle Buddy

People don’t go to war by themselves. It would be a suicide mission. Someone has to have your back.

You need a battle buddy.

The same is true in the spiritual battles we all face. You can’t go to war against lustful thoughts, dishonesty, addictions, and fear by yourself. You’ll be doomed to fail. 

If all you want is to be forgiven, admit your sin and brokenness to God. If you want to make a change, admit it to someone else. 

Revealing your sin is the beginning of healing. You don’t have to admit your sin to everyone. But you need to admit it to someone. You need one person who’ll love you unconditionally, accept you completely, and pray for you constantly. You need someone of the same gender to be open and honest with.

When you confess your sins to someone else, you open the relief valve and take the pressure off. Suddenly, the boogieman isn’t so big.

Often sin is a cycle. You start out humbly asking God for help, so he gives you the power to make it. After about six months of success, you start getting prideful. Then, you fall. And, in humility again, you ask God for help. If you could stay in that spirit of humility, you’d be good. But pride always returns.

You can’t kick that kind of cycle without friends who’ll pray for you, care for you, encourage you, and keep you on track. When success comes, they’ll help you keep your perspective so your humility stays in check. 

That’s why local churches are so important. But you can attend many churches for years and never put yourself in a situation where you know others and are known by others. Make the effort to find a small group of believers in a local church with whom you can be open and honest.

To think you can quit a bad habit without being honest about it with others is simply a cop out. It never works. You guarantee failure when you do that. 

Scripture: Galatians 5:16

The Missing Ingredient In Your Battle Against Sin

You can do everything right and still not defeat a sin. You can read the Bible every day. You can pray. You can have a group of friends around you who’ll speak the truth in love to you on a regular basis.

And you can still be trapped in habitual sin. 

At the end of the day, you can’t depend upon yourself and what you can do to defeat sin. You need the Holy Spirit’s power. The Holy Spirit enables believers to do what they can’t do and fulfill God’s desire for our lives.

You can have all the right equipment to defeat habitual sin in your life, but it won’t matter without the Holy Spirit. Imagine you were walking on the beach and saw a dead seagull that had died less than a minute earlier. If you pick it up, it won’t be much different than its live counterparts. It’ll still be warm. It’ll have the same muscles, bones, feathers, and wings. But if you toss it up in the sky, it’ll drop right back down to the ground. 

Why? The seagull has no life left. The life isn’t in the feathers, wings, or bones. It’s in the life God puts in it. Without a spirit, the bird won’t fly, even if it has all the right equipment.

You can have all the right equipment to live a successful, victorious life, but without the Spirit’s empowering, you can’t live that kind of life.

It’s like throwing a dead bird into the air.

You can’t live the victorious life of Christ on your own. It’s impossible. Your best intentions and your too-easily-broken promises won’t enable you to live the Christian life. The Holy Spirit has to live through you. 

Scripture: Romans 7:22-23

Willpower Won’t Solve Your Problem

You have a war inside of you that will rage for your entire life between who you used to be and who you’ve become in Jesus Christ. Paul, the most decorated missionary in the history of Christianity and the author of most of the New Testament, battled with it.

I hate to tell you this, but you’ll always have this battle. You’ll never outgrow it. You can’t read enough Scripture to make the temptations go away. You can’t hide from them.

Until you get to Heaven, you’re stuck with an all-out battle between your two natures. I’ve been a believer for a long time, but my old nature is still there. My old nature wants me to be prideful, lustful, self-centered, deceptive, and just downright sinful sometimes. 

The question is, what are you going to do about it?

Willpower won’t solve the problem. Just because you want to change and put everything into making that change doesn’t mean you’ll make the change. It may work for a bit, but you’ll get tired and stop the effort. 

In your spiritual walk, you want to choose to follow your new nature, meaning you choose not to follow your old nature. For instance, if you’re tempted with lust but you immediately remove yourself from the temptation, you’ll starve the old self. If, when you’re tempted with pride, you remember your dependence upon God, your old nature can’t last long. 

Scripture: Romans 8:1

There Is No Condemnation If You Belong To Jesus

The Bible says you won’t be perfect after you become a Christian. If someone tells you that, they’re not telling the truth. You’re going to mess up. You’re going to fail at times. And most likely you (or others) will beat yourself up for your failures. 

But, if you’re a follower of Jesus, you can be sure of this: The Lord never condemns you. 

Way too many believers live in fear, bitterness, and insecurity. Although they’re saved, you’d never know it by how they live. They’re too stressed out with fear that God will condemn them for what they’ve done wrong. Instead of dealing with their own guilt, they pile it on to others.

Yet the Bible says there’s no need. (Romans 8:1 NLT)

In other words, God doesn’t judge you for all the things you’ve done wrong if you’ve trusted Christ. Jesus took all that judgment upon himself on the cross. God doesn’t have to judge you because Jesus was judged. He took the rap for your sins!

That’s amazing news. That is good news — the Good News! There’s no reason for a Christian to walk around in shame. There’s no reason to be bitter or to live in shame. Before you were ever born, he knew every sin you’d ever commit — and he paid for them. 

I don’t care what you’ve done in your past. I don’t care who you’ve hurt. I don’t care what other people tell you. If you’ve given your life to Christ, you’re forgiven. 

Scripture: Lamentations 3:21-24

Choose Hope

Pain is a natural part of life. You can’t escape it. Broken relationships, missed opportunities, and rough seasons of life will always be with us. When they do come, you can either become bitter or hopeful.

The choice is yours.

Jeremiah faced the same choice. When his world came apart after Jerusalem was sacked in 586 B.C., the prophet wrote the book of Lamentations to share his honest frustrations with God. But he didn’t settle in his bitterness and stay there.

In Lamentations 3:21-24, after sharing his bitter feelings, he wrote, “Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope” (GNT).

In the midst of a terrible situation, Jeremiah changed his perspective. It’s healthy and good for us to be honest with God about our feelings, but you have to eventually change your perspective. As long as our minds are on our pain, we won’t solve anything. 

Instead, like Jeremiah, we need to recognize God’s great love for us. Jeremiah changed his perspective and recognized the enduring mercies of God. No matter what the problem, no matter how much anger you’ve spewed at God, he still loves you. It’s a constant you can depend upon — no matter what. 

The longer you focus on what depresses you, the longer your depression will last. Bitterness keeps you caught in your own pain. In Lamentations 3, Jeremiah gives you a simple cure for bitterness: change how you think. 

In the midst of a depressing tirade, Jeremiah says, “Yet hope returns …” 

How can you have hope even in your darkest days? You remember, “The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue.”

You can count on that! His mercies are as fresh as the morning and as sure as the sunrise. He is all you need. And, no matter what, “in him I put my hope.”

You’ll never know that God is all you need until he’s all you have.

Are you there yet? There’s no better place to be. 

Scriptures: Romans 8:9, Galatians 5:16

You Have The Power To Say “No”

Some people today insist that we should just give in to any desire that comes our way. It’s a destructive mindset. Just because you have the desire to eat an entire chocolate cake doesn’t mean it’s good for you. 

Before you became a believer, you only had willpower to fight against temptations. But it never was enough. You were relatively powerless against the great cravings that drove you.

As a believer, now you’ve got the Holy Spirit — and a new ability to say “no.” You still have the same compulsions, desires, lusts, and impulses you had before you began a relationship with Jesus, but now the power of God resides inside of you. Now you can say “no.”

Galatians 5:16 says, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” The Bible doesn’t say you won’t have sinful desires after you become a Christian, but it says the Holy Spirit will help you choose not to satisfy them. 

If you ever hear someone say, “I’m a Christian, but I couldn’t stop myself,” they’re lying. They simply never called on the power of the Holy Spirit in the moment of temptation. 

You have the power to say “no.” Use it. 

Scripture: Romans 8:14-16

Truth Is The Antidote To Fear

When I was a kid, I didn’t get scared often. I played fearlessly. But whenever I did get scared, I always cried out to my daddy. I knew he was strong. I knew he could take on anyone. 

That’s what you and I are called to do when we’re scared, too. Stop focusing on your fear. Focus on your Father. Ask God for help. Romans 8:14-16 says, “Those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children. For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, ‘Father! My Father!’ God’s Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God’s children” (GNT).

The antidote to fear is the truth that you’re no longer a slave but a child of God. Being a child of God changes everything. You’re part of a family now. And families take care of one another. 

Let’s say you grew up in a big city, and your family was a part of the family — the Mafia. And, as a kid, someone starts to assault you. You could say, “Wait just a minute! Do you know who I am? My father is Guido. He’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse! Are you sure you want to touch me? Because I’m in the family.” 

That’s what God wants you to know when you’re scared. You’re part of his family, and God takes care of his children. He has your back. Knowing you’re a child of the creator of the universe changes everything. 

Call out to him. Ask him for help. 

Scripture: Romans 8:17-18

The Power Of Eternal Thinking

A famous Harvard study once showed a direct connection between long-term thinking and success. The more people focused on short-term gain, the more likely they were to fail. Those who focus on what “feels good” right now are doomed to be unsuccessful.

For Christians, this should be easy. When we talk of long-term thinking, we call it eternity. We’re not thinking 40 or 50 years into the future. We’re thinking trillions and trillions of years in the future. 

Living with eternity in mind will make you the most successful person possible. When you think long-term, you can handle the momentary problems that come your way. 

One day, if you’re a follower of Christ, you’ll be rewarded for what you’ve done with what you’ve been given. Use your talents, time, treasure, and influence for God’s purposes, and you’ll be rewarded for those choices. The verses above also say we’ll be rewarded in Heaven for what Jesus did: “We will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him.” 

You’ve got a lot to look forward to in Heaven. Compared to what’s in store for you in Heaven, your current pain and problems are petty.

It’s not easy to be a believer. It’s not easy to do what’s right. Sometimes it’s not easy to tell others about Jesus. It’s not easy to tithe. But the benefits of following Jesus and obeying what he teaches will far outlast the pain.

It’s simply foolish to focus only on short-term results. 

Scriptures: 1 John 1:8, Ephesians 4:21-27

Sinful People Can Sin Less

We’re all defective. We all have parts of our lives that simply don’t work. None of us measure up to a standard of perfection. To pretend like you’ve got it all together when everybody knows you don’t is silly. In fact, the Bible tells us it’s self-deception.

You will never be sinless on this planet, but it is possible to sin less. So why is it so hard to change stuff in us that we really don’t like? 

1. Because we’ve had our defects so long.Some of our destructive patterns were developed in childhood, perhaps in resistance to a pain or as a stress coping device. These defects may be self-defeating, but at least they’re familiar! 

2. Because we identify with our defects. We often confuse our identity with our defects. When you see yourself connected to your defect, you set yourself up to perpetuate it. 

3. Because our defects have a payoff. Whatever is rewarded gets repeated. The payoff for the defects you have in your life may be to mask your pain, cover up a fear, give you an excuse to fail, or compensate for guilt. 

4. Because Satan discourages us.Once you start to work on something in your life that you want to change, Satan starts saying, “Who do you think you are? You’re never going to change. You haven’t been able to change in the past. Do you think you’re going to be able to change now? It’s hopeless. It’s not going to work.” Those fears are being planted in your mind by the Devil himself.

These things keep us from changing the hurts, habits, and hang-ups that we know are unhealthy. So what does it take to change those deep patterns in my life that I really don’t like about me?

Scriptures: Ephesians 4:21-24, John 8:32, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Change Requires Learning The Truth

You will never change the things in your life that you know are defective unless you learn the truth. Change requires learning the truth.

You’re not going to be free until you know the truth. The secret to personal change is not a pill, program, or process. It’s not therapy, a book, or a seminar. It’s not positive thinking or psychology. The proof of personal change is found in the truth. You have to know and face the truth about yourself, God, and your relationships before you can change. 

Behind every self-defeating behavior in your life is a lie you’re believing. If you’re deeply in debt right now, it’s because you believed some lies. You thought, “I can just keep charging it forever and get away with it.” Oh really? “I have to have this house.” Oh really? Do you really have to have it? Is it true? Can you prove it?

We lie to ourselves all the time. But you have to know and face the truth if you’re going to change.

Jesus said the truth will set you free. But first it makes you miserable! It makes you miserable as long as you deny it. The moment that you are honest with the truth about you and everything else in life, then it starts to set you free. 

Who is the truth? Jesus said, “I am the truth.” Not “I have it.” Not “I point the way.” Not “I teach it.” He said, “I’m it. I am the truth.”

You can trust his Word. His Word is the Bible. 

The Bible is good for four things: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV).

The Bible is like a path. It shows us where to walk and how to stay on the path. It shows us when we get off the path and how to get back on the path. When you use God’s Word to show you where and how you should walk, it will give you the instruction and knowledge you need to change your life. 

Scriptures: Ephesians 4:21-24, Philippians 2:12-13

Change Requires Making Choices 

It’s not enough to want to change. It’s not enough to desire to change. It’s not even enough to say, “I have a dream of changing.” Dreams are worthless unless you wake up and actually act on them. You’re not going to change the defects in your life until you choose to change. 

How are you going to be different in six months? Are you going to be emotionally stronger? Are you going to be mentally sharper? Are you going to be physically healthier? Are you going to be spiritually deeper? 

It isn’t going to happen automatically. You aren’t just going to get healthier by accident in any category of your life. A lot of times we think we’re waiting on God to change us. You’re not waiting on God. God is waiting on you. 

There is no growth in your life without change. And there is no change without loss. You’ve got to let go of some old stuff. And there is no loss without pain. 

Some of you are stuck right now because you haven’t learned how to let go. That’s a choice. (Ephesians 4:22)

You might say that your defects are biological or sociological. Some of them are from your circumstances or your chromosomes. But it doesn’t really matter where they come from. You need to deal with it. Genetics explains your inclinations, but it doesn’t excuse your sin. 

Here’s the good news: Once you become a believer, you have a new power in you that is greater than those old tendencies. That power is the Holy Spirit. 

Does that mean you are supposed to be afraid of God? Of course not! Be afraid that you’ll miss God’s best and waste your life. Be afraid that you will go your entire life and never know God’s purpose. 

The secret to changing your life is not willpower. It’s God giving you the will and the power through the Holy Spirit to do what needs to be done. 

Scriptures: Ephesians 4:21-24, Philippians 2:5

Change Requires New Thinking

Change in your life requires new thinking. The battle to change the defects in your life is always a mental battle. It starts in the mind, and it’s won or lost there.

You’re not going to change until your thoughts and attitude change. This is why a daily quiet time is important. The time you spend intentionally studying God’s Word and in prayer is the spiritual renewal in your mind. If you’re not doing that, you’re not going to have the power to change.

Do you know what the theological term for “change of mind” is? It is the word “repentance.” To repent literally means to change your mind.

The word “repent” is actually a Greek word — metanoia. Metanoia means to change your mind — to turn from death to life, sin to forgiveness, guilt to peace of mind, Hell to Heaven, my way to God’s way. The most positive change in your life will be when you repent of your sin and turn from regret to peace of mind and forgiveness. 

You have to learn to think in new ways about your defects. Defects are often strengths being misused. That’s a new way of thinking. You probably never thought of that, but that’s repentance! That’s a change of mind. Your defects are often the strengths God gave you being misused.

You have to change the way you think. Philippians 2:5 says, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”

God wants you to learn to think like Jesus. How do you do that? Again, it’s a choice. You’ve got to make a choice and say, “Lord, how would Jesus think about this?” The more you fill your mind with the Word of God, the easier that’s going to be. 

Scriptures: Ephesians 4:21-24, 2 Corinthians 3:18

Change Requires The Holy Spirit

You need more power than just willpower in your life. You need God’s power in your life. 

The “fruit of the Spirit” are the qualities that God puts in your life when the Holy Spirit lives through you. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

How does God produce the fruit in your life? Not by willpower. You don’t go out and say, “I’m going to be a more patient person!” That doesn’t work. 

The Holy Spirit has to grow it on the inside. You try to say, “I’m going to be more patient. I’m going to be more loving.” It’s like tying some oranges on a eucalyptus tree and calling it an orange tree. It doesn’t work that way. Fruit can only come from the inside — his Spirit living through you.

How does the Holy Spirit work in your life? The answer is gradually: “And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT emphasis mine).

When God wants to make a mushroom, he takes six hours. When God wants to make an oak tree, he takes 60 years. The question is: Do you want your life to be a mushroom or an oak tree? 

You didn’t collect your hurts, habits, and hang-ups overnight. It took you a long time to get as messed up as you are! Someone approached me once and said, “Pastor Rick, I need you to solve my marriage problem.” I said, “How long have you been married?” Fifteen years. “How long have you had this problem?” Ten years. 

And you want a five-second answer? It isn’t going to happen! You’ve got to peel that onion one layer at a time.

The Holy Spirit works within us to become gradually more and more like him. Your character is the sum total of your habits. Your responsibility is to develop new habits to change. 

Scripture: Ephesians 4:21-25

Change Requires Honest Community

To change the defects in your life, you have to have people in your life who tell you the truth. You’re not going to get well on your own; you’re going to need other people in your life. You’re going to need support. You’re going to need a small group. Change requires honest community. 

There are some things in your life you’re never ever going to be able to change on your own, typically the things that are the most difficult in your life and that you don’t want anybody else to know about. 

You’re never getting over those things until you share them with someone. You don’t have to tell everybody. You just need to find one person who will trust you and whom you trust — someone who will be confidential, love you unconditionally, not be judgmental, and pray for you. Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing. 

This does not mean a small group where you get together on a superficial level and everyone is “fine” or “doing great.” You have to get to the level of maturity in your small group where you can say, “I had a tough week this week. Life stinks. Here’s what happened.” 

If you’re a believer, you’re also a belonger. You belong in the family of God, and every other believer belongs to you. You cannot become until you belong. You can’t become what God wants you to be until you belong in a group that’s going to have gut-level, honest community. Put away falsehood. Talk to your neighbor. Tell your friend the truth, because we belong to each other.

If you are serious about changing the deepest hang-ups in your heart, the deepest defects in your life, you’re going to have to face the fear of being honest. You’ve got to stop faking it. You’ve got to put away falsehood. You’ve got to be real. 

You can go through life with one of two choices: pretending like you’ve got it all together or getting it all together. But you’ll never get it all together as long as you pretend you’ve got it all together. And you’re never going to get well, get healed, get rid of that area that’s bugging you in your life until you talk to somebody about it. 

Scriptures: Isaiah 53:6, Romans 5:12

Why Is Life So Hard?

Everything seems to be a battle. Nothing is easy. The fact is, life is difficult. 

So, why is life so hard in this world?

The Bible says rebellion against God broke everything.

It all started back with the first couple, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden. When God created the world, everything was perfect. It was paradise. And Adam and Eve had no problems, suffering, sadness, temptations, or troubles.

But one day Adam and Eve decided that they wanted to do what they wanted to do. God told them, “You can do anything you want to in this paradise except one thing.” And what did Adam and Eve do? The one thing God told them not to do.

Why did he even give them a choice? Because without a choice, they couldn’t choose to love God. If you’re forced to love God, then it’s not real love. 

Before sin, there was no death in the world. There was no sadness in the world. There was no sorrow. There was no difficulty in the world. People would not die. Adam and Eve could have lived forever as long as it was a perfect environment. It was only when everything got broken that sin brought death into the world.

Adam and Eve weren’t the only ones who made that choice. I’ve made it, you’ve made it, and everybody else in the world has made it. We have all said, “I don’t want to do the right thing; I want to do the easy thing.” We’ve all said, “I don’t want to say the truth; I want to say what’s convenient.” We’ve all said, “I don’t want to be what God wants me to be; I want to be what I want to be.” We’ve all done this.

We have all broken God’s laws. We have all rebelled by sins, transgressions, and iniquities. And that’s why nothing works correctly — your marriage, your health, your finances, your body, your relationships. Nothing works correctly, because sin broke everything.

When you understand why life in the world is so hard, you’re no longer going to be surprised by it. You’re not going to be surprised when things don’t go your way. You’re not going to be surprised when plans don’t pan out. You’re not going to be surprised when things actually go bad. And you will be able to handle the hard times of life much more easily. 

So why is life so hard? Why do we suffer? Why is everything a battle? The answer is that rebellion against God broke everything. 

Scriptures: Romans 8:22, Romans 8:20, Ecclesiastes 8:8, 1 Corinthians 15:42-43

Sin Has Damaged Everything 

Nothing works perfectly. Because the entire human race has made poor choices …

Everything’s broken, and nothing on this planet works perfectly. Sin has damaged everything. 

Sin has ruined everything. Sin has destroyed everything. Sin has corrupted and spoiled everything. Sin has injured everything — every relationship, idea, dream, and human body. Everything has been touched by this damage.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes six dimensions of your life that sin has damaged. Over the next few days, we’ll look at these six dimensions.

1. The first result is natural disasters and deformities.

We’re not living in Eden anymore. As John Milton wrote in a very famous poem, paradise was lost. We live on a broken planet. And, as a result, we have hurricanes, typhoons, wacky weather, earthquakes, droughts, and floods. 

It’s amazing to me that insurance calls all these things acts of God but doesn’t call the birth of a baby an act of God. In other words, an act of God is only the negative stuff that happens. God does not want these things happening in the world. And he is as upset by natural disasters as we are. The world was broken when sin damaged everything.

The Bible says in Romans 8:20, “Creation is confused” (CEV). Everything on this planet has lost its original purpose. Everything in the world was damaged including your DNA, your parents’ DNA, and their parents’ DNA. Have you figured out yet that your body doesn’t work right? If everybody’s body worked perfectly, there would be no need for doctors. 

2. The second result is physical decay and death.

There was no death on this planet until sin entered the world. Ecclesiastes 8:8 says, “We cannot control the wind or determine the day of our death.” We know that death is inevitable, but we sure try to stop it. We go to great lengths to postpone the decay, too. 

But there’s actually good news: God doesn’t want you to live forever on this planet. He wants you to live forever in a perfect place, not on a planet that’s been broken by sin.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:14-15

Sin Causes Emotional Distress 

The third result of sin is the area of your emotions. Sin causes emotional distress and disappointment. 

Solomon writes a lot about this in Ecclesiastes: “I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered” (Ecclesiastes 1:14-15 NLT).

Solomon is saying that, as a human being, it seems pointless, because we cannot change the past and we cannot control the future. All the stuff that we’ve done wrong, we can’t undo. All the stuff that was done wrong to us, we can’t undo.

And, we can’t control the future. Most of the important things in your life you have no control over. The world cannot be fixed by human effort alone.

Can we go out and do good in the world? Yes. Should we? Yes. Should we relieve pain? Of course. 

But the world is irreparably broken. We serve others to relieve hurt, to heal people, to help them make it through. But we’re not kidding ourselves. We’re not going to bring the Kingdom in on Earth. This is not Heaven. Our ultimate job is to get people into the perfect place, not try to make the world a perfect place. Should we try to make the world better? Yes. Should we expect it to be perfect? No. The damage is too deep for repair. 

Because that damage is so deep, we get stressed out — because things don’t work right, we don’t have enough time to get everything done, things get in our way. There are delays and difficulties and dead ends and, of course, disappointments.

Did you ever plan for a big event and think, “This is going to be so great!” Then when it’s over, you think, “That was it?” I know people who’ve spent an entire year planning for a wedding. Then it was all over in an hour.

The fact is, we have the amazing ability to overestimate how happy we’re going to be with a person, an event, or a possession. We’re not just disappointed with events that happen in our lives or with people in our lives. We’re disappointed with ourselves.

Why? Because this is not Heaven. Everything on the planet is broken. Nothing works perfectly because of our sin. 

Scriptures: Ecclesiastes 4:1, Ecclesiastes 5:13-14

Sin Leads To Relational Distance 

The fourth result of sin is relational distance and discord. 

In a perfect environment where there is no sin, you’re not going to have any conflict. But in a marriage where you take one person who’s imperfect and another person who’s imperfect, it cannot make a perfect relationship. It is impossible. You’re not going to have a perfect relationship. You’re going to have problems in any relationship. 

Solomon mentions this, too. In Ecclesiastes he says, “I’ve been watching people in the world, and you know what I’ve discovered? They’re not nice to each other. People don’t treat each other kindly. People misuse each other. People abuse each other. People lie to each other. People fake each other out. People are phony in their relationships. People wear masks; they cover up; they abuse; they take advantage of each other.”

Why do we do this? Because nothing works on this planet because of sin. When we don’t follow God’s will, it causes damage. 

When Adam and Eve rebelled, it not only disconnected them from God; it disconnected them from each other. You cannot have the kind of intimacy God wants you to have with your spouse without having intimacy with God first. When you’re disconnected from God, there’s no way you’re going to be fully connected the way God meant for you to be as a husband and wife. 

The fifth result of sin is financial and vocational difficulties.

Sin has damaged the area of your finances and career, too. How do economies get broken? By ignoring the biblical principles of finance that God has said in his Word. There are many principles of finance in Scripture. All of the economic problems we have that the government can’t seem to put together and agree on is because of irresponsible living — spending money we didn’t have and not obeying God’s financial principles.

Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 16:9, Proverbs 20:6, Psalms 53:2-3, Proverbs 28:20

The Importance Of Faith

The Bible tells us three things about the importance of faith.

1. God is looking for faithful people.

God is physically, visibly, actively, taking the initiative to look for faithful people that he can bless.

2 Chronicles 16:9 has been one of my life verses, and I’ve learned that if you make yourself usable, God will wear you out. If you get blessable, he will bless your socks off! (That’s why I don’t wear socks.) God is looking for faithful people that he can use. 

2. Faithful people are hard to find. 

A lot of people talk the talk, but they don’t really trust God. They trust their credit card instead. They say they believe in God, but they don’t really trust him when it comes to their finances, health, or job. (See Proverbs 20:6)

Psalm 53:2-3 says this: “God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” (NLT)

3. Faithfulness is the key to blessing and victory.

1 John 5:4-5 says, “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” 

The Bible says in Proverbs 28:20, “A faithful man will have many blessings” (HCSB). I want your life to have many blessings. But in order for you to have that blessing, you’re going to have to learn faithfulness. God tests your faithfulness in different ways. Will you let him grow you in this area so that you can be a man or woman of faith? 

Scripture: Luke 16:10

The Little Things Count

God uses little things to test your integrity. We think it’s the big things in life that create a leader — no. The big crises in life reveal leadership, but leadership is not built in the big things of life. It’s built in the small things of life. That’s where integrity shows up — in the stuff that nobody sees, in the stuff behind the scenes. In the small, unseen, unspectacular choices of life where you do the right thing even though nobody’s ever going to see it. 

Faithfulness requires integrity, and God tests your integrity in the little things.

In Luke 16:10 Jesus says, “Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones” (GNT). He’s saying your public blessing is determined by your private integrity. 

Every time a politician has a scandal, you can always count on his defenders to come out and say this: “It really shouldn’t matter what a guy’s private life is like.” Have you ever heard that one? “It really shouldn’t matter what a guy does in his private life. It hasn’t a thing to do with him as a leader.”

It has everything to do with him as a leader! Because if a man lies to his wife, he’ll lie to his constituents. Believe me! If he’ll lie to his best friend, to whom he said, “Till death do us part,” he will cheat on you, voter! Count on it! 

My public blessing as a leader comes because of private integrity that nobody ever sees. Your public blessing as a person comes from your private integrity that nobody will ever see. God uses little things to test our integrity. 

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10

Faithful People Serve Others

God uses my talents to test my unselfishness. You have to decide in life for whom or what you’re going to live. You’re either going to live a self-centered, miserly life or you’re going to live for something greater than yourself — the kingdom of God.

Faithful people don’t live for themselves. They realize that the talents God gave them are not for their own benefit; they’re to make the world a better place.

When God made you, he gave you all kinds of gifts, talents, and abilities. We call it your S.H.A.P.E.: your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. These five things make you you. And God made you you. There’s nobody like you in the whole world, and he wants you to be you for his glory.

God shaped you to serve him, and there’s only one way to do that: by serving other people.

Faithful people realize that their talents are not for their benefit. You may have a talent for art and say that you do it “just because you love to do it.” That’s nice, but that’s not a good enough motive. God didn’t give you artistic ability just so you can love to do it. He gave it to you so you can use your art in some way to help other people.

Some of you have an ability to fix things. Some of you are good at math. Some of you are good at closing deals. Some of you are good at music. Some of you are good at organizing. And some of you are good at trimming and gardening. 

God made us all different so that everything in the world gets done. If we all liked to do the same thing, there would be a whole lot left undone.

You are the steward of your talents, and God is watching to see if you use what he gave you effectively on Earth. If you use them effectively on Earth, he’s going to give you more responsibility in Heaven. 

Have you ever thought about why didn’t God just create us and take us to Heaven? Why does he put us here on a broken planet for 80 or 90 years? He put you here because life is a test and a trust and a temporary assignment. He’s watching to see if you are faithful to use what he gave you here on Earth to bless other people. 

The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (NLT). God gave you talents, and he’s watching to see if you’re faithful with them. 

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 4:15-17, Galatians 6:9

Don’t Give Up!

The difference between faithful people and unfaithful people is unfaithful people give up at the first sign of difficulty. Faithful people keep on keeping on. Faithful people are determined. Faithful people are diligent. Faithful people are persistent. Faithful people don’t know how to quit. You know how a little acorn becomes an oak tree? An oak tree is just an acorn that refused to give up. 

I’m not that smart, but I do know one thing: It is always too soon to quit. You are never a failure until you quit, and it’s always too soon to quit. God uses tough times to test our persistence.

When we started Saddleback, I preached the first sermon to one person: my wife. She thought it was too long. Thirty-one years later, she’s still saying my sermons are too long!

I thought when we started a church we’d get a building quickly. We went 15 years without a building. In the first 13 years of this church, we used 79 different facilities. You know how many times I felt like giving up? Just every Monday morning! But I don’t know how to quit. And God said, “Rick, if I never give you a building, would you still serve me?” And I said, “Absolutely!”

Saddleback grew to more than 10,000 people before we built our first building. How would you like to set up and take down a church for 10,000 people every week? There’s not a lot of glory in that. It’s just hard work. God uses tough times to test our persistence.

If you’re going through tough times right now, then this verse is 2 Corinthians 4:15-17. 

God is more interested in what you’re becoming than what’s happening to you. He often allows trials, troubles, tribulations, and problems in your life to teach you diligence, determination, and character. The problem you’re going through right now? It’s a test of your faithfulness. Will you continue to serve God even when life stinks?

Scripture: Luke 16:11-13

Faithful People Are Generous

Faithful people are generous when they don’t have anything to give. Anybody can be generous when they have a surplus. I can be generous with my time when I’ve got a lot of extra time. I can be generous with my money when I’ve got a lot of extra money. I can be generous with my energy when I’ve got extra energy to spend. It’s when I don’t have enough time for me, I don’t have enough energy for me, I don’t have enough money for me, I don’t have enough talent for me that God says, “This is a test. I’m watching you to see if you are faithful. Will you be faithful, and will you trust me?” 

Here are five principles in which God will test you and then bless you:

1. God gives to generous people. Why does God want me to be generous? Because he wants me to be like him. 

2. Obeying God’s vision will bring God’s provision.If you do what God tells you to do, God will bring along the resources you need at the right time. What he’s given you the vision for he will give you the provision for.

3. When I do all that God tells me to do, he does what I can’t do.God often asks you to do the impossible to stretch your faith. When you give what little you have, God multiples it and makes up for it. 

4. When I have a need, I sow a seed.Whatever you need in your life, sow that as a seed, and it will come back to you.

5. There’s always a delay between sowing and reaping.There is a season between planting and harvesting. What’s going on in the time delay? It’s a test of your faith.

Will you be faithful to give when you have little? Will you keep on doing the right thing? Will you do what God wants you to do, no matter the cost, and then see what God does? 

Scripture: Lamentations 3:4-6

Tell It To The Lord

We all go through a time when our lives seem to be falling apart. We lose our job. A relationship falls apart. Someone dies. Our health takes a turn for the worse.

In those times, we’re tempted to think God has abandoned us. 

But he hasn’t. 

The ancient prophet Jeremiah was in the same boat when he wrote the book of Lamentations. His country, Judah, endured an economic tailspin and was terrorized by a foreign enemy. He witnessed incredible inhumanities committed against his people. People were out of work and starving to death. 

Where did Jeremiah start? He told God how he felt. In Lamentations 3, Jeremiah says: “He [God] has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded me
with anguish and distress. He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead .… And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers” (NLT).

Does it surprise you that these words are in the Bible? Jeremiah, too, felt God had forgotten him. But Jeremiah didn’t ignore what he was feeling. He didn’t sugarcoat the situation. He told God what was on his heart. In fact, Jeremiah spent five chapters telling God what he thought about the situation. He told God, “This stinks!”

Why would God put that kind of passage in the Bible? He wants you to know that he can handle your anger, your gripes, and your grief. Jeremiah spends an entire book of the Bible blowing off steam. If God was big enough to handle Jeremiah’s pain, he’s big enough to handle yours, too.

Swallow your emotions, and you just hurt yourself. Your stomach will keep score! 

Instead, unload them on God.

When my kids were little, they’d throw temper tantrums. Their temper tantrums didn’t make me love them any less. They didn’t make me doubt my decisions. They didn’t make me feel like less of a father.

They reminded me that my kids were immature. They didn’t know what I knew. 

God doesn’t love you any less when you throw a temper tantrum. He doesn’t owe you an explanation, but he is never afraid of what you have to say.

So tell him. It’ll be the beginning of healing. 

Scriptures: Lamentations 3:25-26, Lamentations 3:28, Matthew 6:6

Ready, Set — Wait

When life seems to be falling apart, your most “spiritual” decision may be a surprise: Get alone with God, and wait.

The Bible tells us this in Lamentations 3:28, “When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: 
Wait for hope to appear.
 Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The ‘worst’ is never the worst”.

Most of us don’t know how to “enter the silence.” We’re always anxious. We don’t like to wait on God because it stresses us out. We like to be in control.

What does it mean to wait on God? You sit down, close your mouth, and just listen to God. You may read your Bible. You may pray. But most all, you’re quiet in front of God.

Anxiety comes when we’re not “waiting for hope to appear,” as Jeremiah tells us. God wants to talk to us. He wants to give us the hope we crave. But we’re way too busy. All of our circuits are busy! When he calls, we’re on a different line.

If we want to listen to God and experience the hope he has for us, we have to get alone with him. We must “enter the silence” and be ready to hear him. (See Matthew 6:6)

Get honest with God, and your focus will shift from just seeing your problems — no matter how overwhelming they seem — to the grace of God.

Before you go out and try to solve your problem on your own, let God save you. It’s like in those war movies when the enemy is marching toward the hero’s army — which is usually an inferior, ragtag group. The hero tells his men to wait until he gives the order to shoot. Then, at the last possible moment, he yells, “Shoot!” Firing at the right moment means success.

The same is true for us. No matter what obstacle you’re facing, you’ve got to wait for God’s timing. He’ll time your next move perfectly.

So wait and listen. 

Scripture: Lamentations 3:40

Change Something, Change You

You can’t change everything. But you can change you.

When your life feels like it’s falling apart, knowing what you can change — and what you can’t change — can make all the difference.

You can’t change your past. You can’t change your parents. You can’t change the gifts and talents God has or hasn’t given you. You can’t change a handicap you’ve been given. You can’t bring back a dead loved one.

You might as well accept all of those things. You’ll start to find peace in the midst of troubles when you accept what you can’t change. Otherwise, you’ll make yourself and the people you love miserable.

There’s much you can’t change, but there’s something important you can change: you.

What’s going on in your life that doesn’t line up with what God wants? Depending on how we react, crises can help us as we learn to focus our eyes on what matters: Jesus. 

To re-order your life God’s way, it’ll take some gut-level self-evaluation. You’ll need to do an inventory of every area of your life. You’ll need to take a look at your relationship with God, your spouse, your kids, and your co-workers. You’ll need to look at hurts, habits, and hang-ups that may be bringing you down. Nothing can be off limits.

It’s not easy. It can get messy. It’s always tough to turn from sin even when it’s tearing us down.

But you can’t find healing otherwise. Healing apart from repentance can’t last. When your world is falling apart, you’ll be tempted to bemoan every area of your life. 

That’s a waste of time. You can’t change everything — but you can change you.

And when your world is falling apart, that can mean everything. 

Scripture: 1 John 4:4

The Battle You Were Born To Win

You were born into a battle. You didn’t ask for it. But before you were born and long after you die, a cosmic battle is taking place all throughout the universe. You can’t escape the battle between God and Satan, good and evil — even if you don’t know it exists. 

Yet it’s important to know God and Satan are not equal enemies. God is far superior in all ways. One day God will completely wipe Satan out. But until then, he allows us to have a choice of whose side we’re on. 

People are often pawns in this cosmic battle. Satan can’t hurt God. What do you do when you can’t hurt someone? You hurt his children. So Satan goes after you. 

The bad news is, you were born for a battle. But there’s good news. You were born to win the battle. (1 John 4:4b).

Satan isn’t afraid of you. He is afraid of who is in you — God.

With the Holy Spirit in you, you don’t have to be afraid of Satan. You’re on the winning side of this war. Now live like it. 

Scriptures: Ephesians 6:10-17, John 14:6

Satan Is Real

You have an enemy — and it’s not who you think it is. It isn’t the person you’re competing against at work. It isn’t the difficult neighbor. It isn’t your ex-spouse. It isn’t the group in your community who are taking unbiblical positions against you. 

Your enemy isn’t flesh and blood at all. (Ephesians 6:12).

Your battle is with Satan. 

One of the reasons we so often walk around in discouragement and defeat is because we don’t really understand who we’re battling. We don’t understand who our real enemy is. We blame the economy, a political party, a segment of people, or the person we can’t stand down the street.

We blame everyone but the one whom the Bible calls a thief and a liar who is out to destroy anyone who loves and follows Jesus.

To find victory in your life over what’s dragging you down, you’ve got to start by attacking the right enemy. 

When you do, keep these truths in mind as you battle against your true enemy, Satan.

1. You’re no match for Satan. It’s like trying to shoot a rubber band at a battleship. Outside of Jesus, you have no hope of defeating Satan’s influence over your life.

2. Everyone gets used by Satan. Satan will put thoughts in the minds of Christians and non-Christians alike. At times we can all be a pawn of Satan. Protect yourself with the armor of God (see Ephesians 6:10-17).

3. Not everything that is spiritual is good. There’s spiritual light and spiritual darkness. Don’t fall for the lie that all roads to God are equal. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV).

4. Satan doesn’t fight fair. Satan can’t slug you, so instead he puts discouraging and depressing ideas into your mind. You’ve got to catch him in the act, let him know you know where the idea comes from, and ask Jesus for help.

Satan is real. He’s the enemy who has been disrupting your life. But there’s good news: He doesn’t have a chance against Jesus. 

Scripture: Ephesians 6:14

Live With Integrity

Integrity matters. The Bible says we’re in a war “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world.” And we can’t battle those spiritual forces that threaten to derail our lives if we’re not living with integrity.

Essentially, we’re committed to taking the truth of God’s Word and applying it to all areas of our lives, such as our moral, financial, relational, and sexual lives.

It’s why Paul tells us we need to put on the Belt of Truth before we go into the spiritual battles that are all around us. He says, “So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist” (Ephesians 6:14a GNT).

The Belt of Truth holds up everything. Without truth, your life will fall apart, and spiritual darkness will take over.

We put on our Belt of Truth by living with integrity. Integrity comes from the word “integer,” which means “unit of one.” Your life of integrity isn’t the pieces of the pie; it’s being the whole pie.

To live a life of integrity, don’t just know the truth; live it out. Like your belt, integrity gives you stability. It holds you together in the middle through tough times. It gives you much-needed strength.

Of course, living with integrity doesn’t mean perfection. It doesn’t mean always doing what’s right. If perfection were the standard for integrity, no one would have it. We all stumble at times. 

To live with integrity, let people see on the outside what’s going on inside. It means what you see is what you get.

Hypocrisy is the great enemy of integrity. We practice hypocrisy when we know the truth and don’t do it. It’s when what we say isn’t the same as what we do.

And it’s dangerous — very dangerous. A lack of integrity in any area of your life will leave you vulnerable to Satan’s arrows. In fact, the moment you start segmenting your life into different pieces — your church life, family life, sex life, etc. — you’ve lost your integrity. You’re not living the same in all areas of your life.

Does life seem overwhelming? Do you feel like darkness is winning the battle in your life? It always will if you’re living a double life. Check your integrity. Do what God’s Word teaches in all areas of your life, not just where and when it is most convenient. You have no hope without that kind of integrity. 

Scriptures: Ephesians 6:14, Revelation 12:10

Satan Fears The Pursuit Of Purity

We don’t have to do anything wrong for Satan to attack us. It’s what he does. It’s who he is. The Bible calls him “the accuser of our brothers and sisters” (Revelation 12:10 NLT). And he wants nothing more than to attack those who love Jesus. 

Yet often, our own impure lifestyles open up the door of our hearts for his attacks. He knows that if he can slip his foot into the door of our hearts through impurity, we’re goners. He’ll trip us up with all sorts of temptations, from pornography to movies to books to songs — whatever it takes to make us ineffective as a Kingdom influencer. 

That’s why Paul’s breastplate of righteousness is so important as we battle against whatever Satan throws at us. In Ephesians 6:14, Paul urges believers to “Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest” (HCSB).

A Roman soldier going to war would always put on a breastplate to protect his heart. No soldier would dare go to battle without protecting his heart.

Neither should we. Paul tells us that righteousness, or purity of motives, is our breastplate. When we ask God to give us a pure heart and pure motives, we’re putting on that breastplate of righteousness.

Satan fears the person with a pure heart — not the perfect person, but the person who wants to do the right thing and keeps his or her motives pure. People who pursue purity don’t have to be afraid of him; he is afraid of them.

Purity doesn’t mean perfection, though. None of us fit that description. God expects purity of motives, not perfection of action. It means when you do something wrong, you want to make it right. You can’t have God’s blessing on your family, your business, or any other area of your life unless you seriously pursue that kind of purity.

For example, open up your heart to greed, and you’ll follow a well-worn path to destruction. If Satan can get you to want more, he’ll get you to cheat on your taxes. He’ll get you to make a shady business deal. Leave the door to your heart ajar through pride, and you’ll chase the applause and praise of others rather than the approval of God.

That leads nowhere. Without a pure heart, you’re a pushover for Satan. You don’t have to be strong to stand against Satan’s attacks, but you do need to protect yourself with God’s armor of righteousness. 

Scriptures: Ephesians 6:15, Psalms 119:165

Peace: The Worry Beater

Conflict makes you an easy target for Satan’s attacks. It doesn’t matter if your conflict is with God, other people, or even yourself; it will open the door for Satan to tear you apart.

You’ll become a pushover for his plans. It’ll open up every area of your life to Satan’s attacks. 

You don’t want that. It’s why the doomsday scenario for many countries is facing wars on multiple fronts. If you’re fighting yourself, others, or God, you can’t fight against what Satan is doing in the world. You can’t fight a multi-front war effectively. You were never meant to do so. 

All levels of conflict leave you flailing for support and searching for a firm footing, as if you’re being sucked into quicksand.

That’s why Paul urges believers, “On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong” (Ephesians 6:15 NCV).

Roman soldiers had hobnails on the bottom of their shoes. These little nails helped them get a better grip with their shoes, like cleats for football players. Without them, soldiers would slip and slide in battle. They wouldn’t be able to hold their ground. 

Without putting on the “peace that comes from the Good News,” you too will slip and slide your way through life. Paul is writing about three different aspects of peace: with yourself, with others, and with God. It’s called reconciliation, and you need it in all areas of your life. If you wake up each morning at peace with yourself, God, and others, you’ll find yourself on strong footing. You’ll be able to stand strong against the attacks of Satan.

Satan tries to attack your peace through worry. We can worry about anything. We can worry about our future. We can worry about finances. We can worry about relationships. Often, we worry about what others think of us. When we worry, it means some area of relational peace is out of whack. In fact, most of the time it means we’re out of whack in each of those areas. 

And it means you’re shoeless — and not letting the peace of God’s Word take control.

The Bible says, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them” (Psalm 119:165 NLT). In other words, the more I love and obey the Bible, the less I’m offended by what others say. The more I love God’s Word, the less I’m offended by what happens to me. The more I love God’s Word, the less my walk with God will be disturbed.

Choose to believe what God’s Word says about you, about others, and, most importantly, about God. 

Choose to believe because obeying God’s Word brings you peace. Choose to believe because Jesus did. Choose to believe because what God’s Word says about you and the world around you is true. 

Scripture: Ephesians 6:16

Shield Of Faith: Protection Money Can’t Buy

As a follower of Jesus, you have fiery darts coming at you all the time. So what kind of fiery darts are coming your way? Satan implants the following thoughts into your mind:

• Doubt. You start asking yourself, “Did God really say? Can I really trust God? Isn’t that just your interpretation?” • Discouragement. Satan tells you, “You’re never going to get any better. Your life won’t change. Don’t even try.” • Delay. You ask yourself, “Why is this taking so long?” Something you want to happen hasn’t happened by now. • Difficulty. You ask yourself, “Why is this so hard? Why is it so hard to make my marriage work? Why is it so hard to get a job?”• Depression. You tell yourself, “It’s not worth it.” You don’t even feel like making an effort.

All these darts come your way on a regular basis. They create uncertainty in your life. In times of great uncertainty — like when you’re out of work or going through a major family transition — these fiery darts will fly at you even faster. You better be ready for them.

Paul gives us the only proper antidote to these fiery darts: the Shield of Faith. The Bible says, “At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One” (Ephesians 6:16 GNT). 

How do you handle these darts? Put on the Shield of Faith. It’s the only protection you have against doubt, discouragement, delay, difficulty, and depression. Trust God, no matter what you see, hear, or feel about the world around you. You need the certainty of God when you face the uncertainty of Satan’s fiery darts. 

In short, you’ll need to doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs. Most people do just the opposite. They doubt their beliefs and believe their doubts. That’s just dumb. Believe what God tells you in his Word.

I saw a bumper sticker many years ago that said, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” It may be a nice sentiment, but it’s bad theology. The truth is, “God said it, and that settles it — whether I believe it or not.” God’s truth isn’t based on whether you believe it or not. It’s still true even if you don’t believe it, because God can’t lie. 

You need that kind of certainty in difficult days. With the Shield of Faith, you have certainty that God’s promises are true even when they don’t appear to be true in your life.

Whenever you start believing your doubts and doubting your beliefs, Satan cracks a door open in your life, and he’ll use that door to attack you on many levels. 

You can’t ever take off the Shield of Faith, either. Paul tells us to wear it “at all times.” Satan will never stop throwing his fiery darts at you. Stay on your guard. Trust God and his Word, no matter what’s going on in your life. 

The Shield of Faith is the best protection money can’t buy.