Victory in Jesus
It is always necessary and relevant to go back to the fundamental truth of the gospel. That is what I feel most led to share with you today.
What exactly happens when we sin? Separation from God, certainly. Are we making God sad and Satan happy? Not exactly. It certainly grieves the heart of the Almighty when we make choices apart from Himself and His cause, but it is not like the other team gained a point. See, Satan hates you. He hates me. He hates everybody. Our sin does not make the bad guy happy as though we have gained a favor with some awful leader. There is no favor allotted to us anywhere for sinful acts or nature. Satan hates us as much in our sin as he does in our victories. Why do you think it is that guilt plagues us so much when we struggle or experience defeat? He tempts us away from Jesus and condemns us when we respond by giving into those temptations. The Enemy uses our sin to guilt us, torment us and to try to strip us of God's love. He expresses his hatred on us in his vain effort to wage war again God. To accuse the Lord's beloved and separate the Father from His children would certainly cause God heartache. This is what Satan is out to do: Annihilate all that God loves and gain power over Him. The Enemy's influence in our lives has absolutely nothing to do with us. Satan hates God. He hates all that God loves, such as us. He seems like a powerful opponent, but though strong, Yahweh is stronger and we belong to Him! We get to be His children, the ones that the Lord delights in.
"For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation." Psalm 149:4
That is such good news! The Lord loves us as much in our sin as He does in our victories! Look again at the verse above and remember that He takes great pleasure in you!
"For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare to even die--but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8
Wow! That's a supernatural kind of love to experience! The Father looks upon us with compassion and delight. He did everything necessary to defeat the attacks of the Enemy and though the Devil does prowl to influence us, ultimately he does not own us! Satan holds no power over us by the grace of God and the blood of Jesus Christ! I have certainly asked, "How can this even be that the Lord would love me in such a deep way?" It is because I am His and He is mine. I am so thankful that my sin merits no strength to the enemy of the One I love. We are gloriously secure by faith in the One who loves us! That is my greatest motivation to "live in a manner worthy of the calling that I have received" as I was charged in Ephesians 4:1.
"What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all--how will he not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31-39
By the power of the cross, we are free in Jesus! Sin has lost its power over us! Jesus died for you to live freely in Him. I pray that if you have not already surrendered to this truth, that you will do so today. I invite you to my contact page to ask any of those hard questions through which you may still be working. I am here for you. Let me confidently assure you, my friend, that a life with Jesus is, indeed, the one thing worthy.
Jesus loves us. Amen