My friend posted this quote today on Instagram. “If you saw the size of the blessing coming, you would understand the magnitude of the battle you are fighting.” It reminded me of Dave Ramer’s message on having eyes with an eternal mindset — looking beyond into the next life, and not eyes focused on the visible, tangible, in-the-here-and-now. Imagine if we could see the rewards waiting for us in eternity — how would that give us such a radically different perspective — on giving, on what we treasure and how we live, and the reality of the battle in the spiritual realm that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 6. The magnitude and scope of the battle is beyond anything we can fathom. The enemy is called the prince and power of the earth. He roams to and fro looking to devour the weak. Evil surrounds us and wraps the earth in darkness. So it is no wonder that Paul is so adamant about wearing armour and learning to wield the weapons of warfare. Jesus said that you should expect that you are going to deal with trials if you choose to follow Him because that choice is contrary to the darkness surrounding you. It sets you apart and sets you alight like a beacon on a hill — like a lighthouse cutting through the darkness with a blazing beam of light.
Peter echoes Jesus when he speak of the battle in 1 Peter 4:12-13, “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad — for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.”
It’s not going to be an easy walk. Knowing that all you do here in this short time on earth has eternal impact on life in eternity … and the incredible blessing that awaits should clue us in to what is going to come against us to hinder and discourage us. St. Paul experienced all of it — from beatings to imprisonment — yet he writes in his second letter to the Corinthian church (4:8-10, 16-17), “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies … That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be yet seen.”
Open my eyes Lord… let me be ever aware and vigilant about the magnitude of the battle, and may I realize the significance of your coming blessing upon the earth – give me a sobriety and holy fear in the midst of joy as I celebrate your goodness and strive for righteousness!