Victors in the Midst of Strife

Sunday, November 14, 2010, 8:55 a.m. – This song has been going through my mind this morning:

Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee / Henry Van Dyke / Beethoven / MacMillan

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,
Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

I was so tired yesterday. I remembered an old expression my mother used to say: “My get up and go, got up and went.” That is how I felt most of the day yesterday. Some friends we knew 24 years ago invited us to dinner. We had just recently learned that they lived near us, so we were able to renew an old friendship and to learn of how our lives have crossed paths from our childhood years (1950’s/1960’s) in Akron, Ohio, to the time spent in Raleigh, NC together in the early to mid-1980’s, to us now living within 30 minutes of one another. So, we had a really good time reminiscing over old times and of learning of more recent ways in which our lives have intersected, as well.

Then, this morning I have been struggling, as well, to get going. The Lord put this song into my mind, so I got out the hymn book, read the lyrics, and I have been listening to the Lord to see what he wants to teach me this morning through this song and through His Word. We were talking last night about facing those times in our lives when we feel anxious and how we should just praise the Lord and sing songs of praise during those moments and how Jesus is the best medicine there is for what ails us. And, as I read these lyrics again this morning, I could see how this fit with some of our conversation last night with our friends.

Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

This is so true! When we feel weighed down by the cares of this world; when we feel as though someone has pulled the plug and drained all our energies and resources of strength and endurance; when we feel like giving up or giving in; or when we feel anxious or worried about things going on in our lives or in the world around us, if we would learn to just burst out into songs of praise to the Lord Jesus, we can be victors in the midst of strife. Joyful music that offers words of praise and adoration to God can lead us Sunward (toward Jesus) and we can be triumphant over whatever it is that we are going through. For me, today, I need to be triumphant over this lack of energy that has taken over my body since yesterday so that I can be renewed in the strength of the Lord.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 17:14-23:

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [21]

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time
22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

NIV Footnote on Matt. 17:21: Some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark 9:29.

Mark 9:29

He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

My Understanding: I believe there is a lesson to be learned here from this passage of scripture that can be applied to our life’s circumstances that weigh on us or that war against us. This boy had a demon who was throwing him into seizures. So, I want to look first at some of our “demons” that might be throwing us into confusion, making us anxious, etc.

Demon – “a spirit regarded as evil; a fear or anxiety that torments somebody” (Encarta Dictionary); “fear; anxiety; terror; torment; trouble; worry” (MS Word Thesaurus); “A persistently tormenting force, or passion; habit, obsession, etc., thought of as evil, cruel, or persistently tormenting” - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/demon.

So, basically, a “demon” can be an actual evil spirit and/or it could be anything that consumes or takes control of our emotions, our reactions, our behavior, etc. that is contrary to God, to His Word, and that keeps us from obeying God and has us in a continuous (or near continuous) state of worry, fear, anxiety or giving in to sinful habits of behavior and thus placing us in bondage to our flesh instead of allowing us to be free in the Spirit.

So, what is the answer? How do we rid ourselves of these “demons” of fear, anxiety, sinful habits, etc.? Simply put, Jesus is the answer, but that sounds trite and certainly does not explain the “how to” part of it, yet it is still true. It took the power of Jesus Christ to remove this demon from the life of this boy, and it is the power of Jesus Christ that will remove our “demons”, as well. So, what were the elements necessary for this boy to be delivered?

1) Jesus Christ and his power – We learn in many other scriptures that it is only in the power and strength of the Name of Jesus Christ that we are able to be free from bondage to sin; free from worry; and that we are able to conquer Satan and his forces that war against us, and that we are able to be victorious. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was resurrected, ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us, and one day soon He is coming again to receive us to himself. He alone has the power to set the prisoner free and to forgive sin. He died so that we might be free, not only from the ultimate penalty of sin, but from the bondage to and the control of sin over our lives, including the control of fear and anxiety.

2) Faith – first of all our faith must be in Jesus Christ, because he alone has provided the way in which we are able to be free from these “demons” that war against us. Then, we have to have faith that Jesus is able to work through us and to use us to be his hands and his feet and to be instruments of his divine love and healing in other people’s lives and in our own lives. A mustard seed was very small and yet it yielded a large plant. The idea here is that even a small amount of genuine faith can yield a great harvest if we truly put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and in his power to heal and in his ability to work his healing power out in and through our lives.

3) Prayer – Matthew 17:21 had a footnote next to it in both the NIV and in the NASB. Evidently this verse is not in some of the older manuscripts and perhaps was borrowed from Mark’s account of the same story, yet the concept of prayer as necessary for healing is not a new teaching. It is taught throughout scripture. Yet, it must be a prayer of faith and it must be a prayer that is in line with God, with his nature, with his teachings, and with his will. Several passages of scripture state that if we will ask anything in Jesus’ name, he will do it. A person’s name is his signature or is his stamp of approval on something, so to ask in Jesus’ name is not merely mouthing the words “In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.” It means to pray according to God’s will.

4) Praise – This song speaks of singing and of being joyful; of praise and adoration to God; of loving one another, etc. It expresses the need within us to give praise back to God Almighty for all the wonderful things He has done. The song says that singing songs of joy and praise to the Lord has a direct impact on melting the clouds of sin and sadness (like the sadness of Jesus’ disciples in learning that Jesus would be handed over to the hands of men, that they would kill him, but that he would be raised). Singing songs of joy and praise also affect driving the dark of doubt away (like the disciples lacked the faith to believe that they could cast out that demon). I remember an old song that said, “For the chains that seem to bind you serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you when you praise Him” (Praise the Lord). That is so true! I have sung that song on many occasions when Satan was throwing his darts of fear my way.

A few years back I was going through a particular anxious point in my life. I read a secular book titled, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” The title explains it all. In addition to the four points above, I’d like to add here another important element in overcoming our “demons.” Satan loves to keep us down by getting us to give in to our fears, i.e. to yield to them. So, even though we may feel fear, we must go in the strength and power of the Lord against our feelings because Satan loves to use our feelings to keep us from obeying God. Today I did not feel like writing, yet I did it anyway because I knew that God would use it to bring strength back into my life, to give me courage and encouragement, and to move me forward in faith and obedience despite my feelings, and it worked! Praise God!