A Reminder We've Won

“Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” (Isa 14:15 AV)

Sometimes, we forget, or perhaps neglect to believe, the simplest of truths.  One of those truths is the enemies of the saint are defeated.  It may not be realized at this moment, but they are defeated.  These enemies are real.  The flesh, the world, and the Devil are all real.  All one has to do is to strive for the LORD and he will find out really quick there are enemies that do not want the believer to have even one victory.  They each have their power.  They each have their relentless attacks.  What is illuminating about this verse is the need to remind the Devil just what awaits him.  As though he couldn’t have guessed that going up against the LORD meant certain destruction.

Having been in the ministry for over thirty years, I have had my share of battles.  I cannot say for certain which ones were the devil himself as opposed to one of his minions, but what I can say is that spiritual battles are real.  The devil wants us to fail.  He knows he cannot win, so he wants to wreak as much havoc and destruction on the people of God and His reputation as he can.  Sometimes, those battles take us to the edge.  Such has been the case for me a few times.  Right to the edge.  We don’t think we can survive.  Not one more minute.  Then, the Spirit of God does battle with the forces of evil and eventually there is relief.  What would help is to remember that the devil will suffer an eternal torment beyond what we can even comprehend and the torture he has brought upon us will pale in comparison to what he will experience for the rest of eternity.

 I used to get picked on a lot in school.  It was relentless.  Partly because I was not a fighter.  Partly because of our family’s character.  But it was relentless.  One of the satisfactions afforded me is that I knew that what went around, came around.  With interest.  Those who would cause me harm eventually got caught without me ratting them out and they were gone.  Expelled or bullied by someone bigger.  God’s justice may not come when we wish, but when it does, it will come in force!