Are you frustrated? Do you feel like everything is coming against you all at once? Do you feel helpless to change your situation? Do you have faith to believe there are things going on behind-the-scenes that you can’t see? Things having to do with the unseen war between good and evil; between light and darkness? If so, as a child of God, you can have confidence that you don’t have to fight the battle alone. You have the God of Angel Armies on your side … and you can trust that He will fight for you! Want an example? Consider 2 Kings 6:14-17 (ICB), “Then the king sent horses, chariots and a large army to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city. The servant of Elisha got up early. When he went out, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?” Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the one against us.” Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, open my servant’s eyes. Let him see.” The Lord opened the eyes of the young man. And he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” So, who was leading the horses and chariots? Bible scholars believe it was angels … angels directed by God ready to protect Elisha and his servant. Through faith and through the power of Elisha’s prayer, the servant was able to see not only physically what was surrounding him (the earthly army), but also spiritually what was surrounding him (the angelic army). And, since the angelic army was being directed by God (the Creator and Master of the Universe), the servant had every reason to be confident that the earthly army was no match for God’s angelic army … especially since the Creator is always greater than the creation. 1 John 4:4 (ICB) puts it another way: “My dear children, you belong to God … God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world.” So, with that in mind, the timeless truth to remember today is this: no matter what you are facing, if you are God’s child than you can have confidence to trust and believe it will all work out according to God’s plan … everything will be okay because God is in control … sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning! So, take heart, it’s not over until it’s over! Pray and ask God to open your eyes today so that you, too, may see for yourself (through faith believing) that there really are more on your side than you could ever imagine; God is fighting for you, pushing back the darkness! Believe it, then see it!
Do you have regrets … you know, things in your past that you wish you hadn’t done? Things you wish you had never even considered doing? Are there skeletons in your closet you hope and pray no one ever finds out about? Would you like to pretend all the bad things you’ve ever done in your entire life could just be removed … could just be deleted? Well, if so, I’ve got good news for you … they can. All the sins of your past (and present) can be deleted … for good. In fact, Isaiah 43:25 (NIV) tells us, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Did you get that? God blots out your transgressions (your sins, all the bad things you’ve ever done in your entire life) and he actually chooses to remember them no more. How is this possible you may ask. How is it possible that God … the One who knows everything and who could choose to remember everything actually makes the choice not to? Simple … because of grace. Because He wants to show you love more than He wants to show you punishment. Because He wants to forgive you and wants you to forgive yourself. Because, according to Psalm 103: 8-14 (NIV), “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” So, today, the timeless truth to remember is that you can allow God to hit the delete button. You can go to Him in prayer, repent of all your sins (past and present), turn away from doing those sins, and turn towards God and towards His way of living as described in the Bible. You can receive His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, and His salvation. You can be “born again”… all things can become new… as if all the old things never happened… because, according to God, once you receive His salvation and become His child, you are born into a new family … God’s family… and through accepting Jesus’s sacrifice when He died on the cross to pay for your sins, God sees you as if you’ve never sinned. He sees you as holy, acceptable, righteousness, and approved by Him. Not by any good works of your own … only by faith in what Jesus has already done for you when you were his enemy. Would you like to start the new year free from your past sins? Would you like God to hit the delete button? If so, simply go to Him in prayer through faith and ask Him to. Then, as you receive all He wants you to have, you will be free! And He who the son sets free is free indeed!