I don’t know about you, but it sure does seem to me that this Victorious Christian Life is not as victorious as I would like.  And in fact, sometimes it seems more like death than life.  Which tends to leave me wondering then, is it even Christian?  I mean, the Apostle John assures me that ‘the one who is in [me] is greater than the one who is in the world’ (1 John 4:4).  So why is it that the one in the world seems to have so much success in causing such turmoil? 

Now my tendency in these situations is to do one of two things.  Either a) wallow in my self pity, eventually convincing myself that God is either unable or unwilling to help, or b) convince myself that it really isn’t as bad as it seems, kinda that power of positive thinking approach.

My attitude becomes somewhat like Cypher’s in The Matrix.  At first, he is thrilled to finally be free, to fight for something.  But as the battle rages, he begins to doubt that help is really on the way.  He dismisses the prophecies and begins to focus on his own survival.  Finally we have that scene with him and the Agent in the restaurant.  Cypher speaks, “You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize?”  He takes a bite.  “Ignorance is bliss.”

And yet, Jesus tried to warn us.  He said “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt 10:34), and “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).   He even said that “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (Matt 10:16).  Certainly not the picture of peace and tranquility that I had always hoped for.

So this morning I am looking at one of my favorite Old Testament passages in Deuteronomy 31:6.  God is speaking to Israel about the coming battles that they will be facing and he says:  “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord you God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.”  And then in verse 8, “do not be discouraged.”

He never tells them that it won’t get bloody and ugly.  He never tells them to just be happy, but he does tell them not to be discouraged.  Obviously he knew those would be very real possibilities.  But what I love is the reason he tells them not to be discouraged, ‘for the Lord you God goes with you.’  It is the same promise that Jesus gave us after speaking those words in John 16.  “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We are in a battle, for the life that Christ has for us.  We can become discouraged and give up hope, or we can anesthetize (by the way, religion or whiskey work equally well here), or we can walk honestly with the one who will never leave us of forsake us.

It may not always be bliss, but it is Victorious Christian Living.

To the King,

David