Onward, Christian Soldiers
“Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.”
John 17:18 NLT
“He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”
Ephesians 2:10 MSG
It seems like every day we hear about another tragedy, some senseless act of violence, some unspeakable evil committed against the innocent, or some other new horror. And we’re left feeling shocked, saddened, outraged, terrified, overwhelmed or maybe all of the above. It wears on us. It makes us feel hopeless. We cry out to God, Why don’t You do something? But the thing is, God did do something. He created us. He created us to do His work in the world, and He expects us to do it.
After the recent school shooting in Texas, through tears of heartbreak and despair, I confessed to my husband, who is a police office in our city, my fear of sending our daughter to school. He assured me, “We’re doing everything we can to keep our schools safe.” And I know he is. I know all of the first responders, school officials, and teachers are. They are doing everything possible to combat evil in our city and prevent another tragedy. Then I thought, What about me? Am I doing everything I can?
When we look around and see all the evil in the world, we often feel powerless to do anything about it. But we’re not. As followers of Christ, we have been commissioned and empowered to do His work in the world. Maybe I can’t fight off armed attackers, but I can do my part to fight off evil in the world. So can you.
“All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me,
John 9:4 TLB
for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end.”
Do the Work God Sent You to Do
“Focus on the purpose God has given you . . .
Chronological Life Application Study Bible
this is how you do God’s will and not your own.”
When we sense a need to help, our first thought my be, Where do I begin? Often the problems we face feel so overwhelming that we think nothing we can do will make a difference. So we give up before we even begin. Or we rush into doing what we think is the right thing only to get stopped in our tracks. So what exactly are we supposed to do? We want to help, but how?
I think the first thing we need to do is realize that we can’t do everything. But we can do something. God created each one of us with a specific purpose in mind, so our first job is to figure out what that is.
“It’s time to get serious about following God. You must decide what kind of life you are going to live and commit yourself to it, because someday soon you’ll see the return of what you’ve planted over the years. Will that be a crop that you’re proud of?”
Charles F. Stanley, 30 Life Principles
We are called to do the work that God has sent us to do. Not nothing, not everything, but our specific something that He made us for. The job of the Holy Spirit is to train us for our specific assignments, so we’ve got to stay tuned in to what He is telling us to do. Without His guidance we’ll feel lost, and we won’t be as effective as we could be. See, when we learn how to tap into God’s power by following His plans for us, we’ll see Him multiply our efforts in amazing ways. But we’ve got to be patient and trust Him to lead us.
“You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.”
Charles F. Stanley, 30 Life Principles
So how do we figure out our own specific calling? That’s a huge question I don’t feel qualified to answer. But I do know that we won’t find it apart from a personal relationship with Christ. We’ve got to turn our lives over to Him and stay connected to Him every day through prayer and Scripture. This isn’t optional. How can we have a personal relationship with someone we never communicate with? Speaking to Him in prayer and letting the Holy Spirit speak to us as we read His Word transforms us into the people He wants us to be, people He can use to do His work in this broken world. Even if we don’t yet know our unique purpose in this life, we can still focus on our two most important callings: Love God and love people.
“Jesus didn’t ask God to take believers out of the world but instead to use them in the world. Because Jesus sent us into the world, we should not try to escape from it, nor should we avoid all relationships with non-Christians. We are called to be salt and light (Matt 5:13-16), and we are to do the work that God sent us to do.”
Chronological Life Application Study Bible
Use the Power You Have Been Given
“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”
Mark 14:38 NLT
One of the biggest temptations we face is the temptation to believe the devil’s lies. He tells us that we’re powerless against evil, that nothing we do will make a difference, that we shouldn’t even bother trying. But none of this is true! This is just his way of trying to keep us out of the fight. If we belong to Christ, then we have all the power of Christ within us. The enemy knows this. He knows if we use this power, he doesn’t stand a chance against us. So he lies to us, trying to convince us that we’re powerless. And for some reason, we often believe him. That’s why Jesus tells us to keep watch and pray. This is how we tune out the enemy’s lies and tune in to the voice of God, our Commander.
“Pray to God . . . this is how you maintain your vigilance.”
Chronological Life Application Study Bible
I saw a comment on social media recently in response to a post calling people to pray. The comment said that prayer was fine if it brought people comfort, but what we really need is to do something. I see where the commenter is coming from, but like many people, he may not truly understand the power of prayer. God chooses to work with us and through us, so when we call out to Him, He “bends down to listen” (Psalm 116:2 NLT). Think about that. The Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who holds everything together, the God who can work miracles, bends down to listen when we pray. This means prayer can actually affect the course of events in history — past, present, and future. Why wouldn’t we tap into that power? Why do so many people think prayer isn’t really doing anything? . . . Remember what I said earlier about the enemy’s lies?
“Prayer is the most powerful thing that you can do. As difficult conflicts arise, the enemy may try to convince you to ‘tone down’ or keep your walk with God a secret. However, God will call you to a deeper walk with Him so that you can experience His provision, grow in your faith, and be a shining example to others.”
Charles F. Stanley, 30 Life Principles
Now, I think we all agree that prayer is not magic. We can’t just make a wish and see it come true. God is still in charge. He sees everything. He understands the implications of everything. We have to trust that He knows what’s best even if we don’t understand it. But here’s the thing. When we develop an intimate relationship with Him based on faith and a genuine desire to do His will, He actually transforms our hearts and minds. He aligns our dreams and desires with His. When this happens, we begin to pray according to His will instead of our own. What does this mean? This means that prayer is how we receive our marching orders. It means the closer we are to God, the more likely we are to see our prayers answered. It means prayer changes us so that we can change the world.
“We stand tallest and strongest on our knees.”
Charles F. Stanley, 30 Life Principles
We will continue this topic next week: We’ll discuss more about our mission to be united in Christ and overcome evil with good. When we are all working together, connected to Christ, we can accomplish amazing good on this planet. We can fight evil with the power that lives inside each one of us. It’s time to get busy learning how to use that power, how to hear the voice of our Commander.
“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
Ephesians 6:10 NLT
This week’s Scripture passages focus on the power we have as Christians to fight evil and do good. God has chosen each one of us to do His work in the world. We can make a difference. As we listen to God’s voice and step out in faith and obedience, He arms us with strength for the battle.
It’s time to fight! Onward, Christian soldiers…
“Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies.
1 John 4:4 CEV
God’s Spirit is in you and is more powerful than the one who is in the world.”
References:
- Chronological Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2012.
- “Matthew West – Do Something.” YouTube, uploaded by Matthew West, 28 January 2014, https://youtu.be/b_RjndG0IX8.
- Stanley, Charles F. 30 Life Principles Study Guide: A Study for Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God. Thomas Nelson, 2008.
Images:
- Cross featured image by cottonbro: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-standing-in-front-of-the-altar-7520064/
- Planet Earth image by Daniel Roberts from Pixabay
- Field image by kropekk_pl from Pixabay
- Man Praying image by StockSnap from Pixabay (edited)
- Heart image by Pexels from Pixabay
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!