by Calven Celliers
As I walked along the garden path, the striking contrast of a single red poppy surrounded by the azure background of the mass of pretty little Forget-Me-Nots bordering the walkway, caught my attention. I stood and gazed at the wonder of creation, appreciating this awesome sight before me. The poppy, a renowned symbol of remembrance for those who have lost their lives in conflicts around the world, jolted my memory to the fact that this weekend is Remembrance Sunday, the anniversary to commemorate and honour all those brave men and women, fallen heroes, who died as a result of the ravages of war.
World War II was the biggest and bloodiest war in the history of the planet. Historians estimate that between 40 and 50 million people died during those dark years, as more than thirty nations were involved in the battle for six years starting with the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939 under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. At the war’s conclusion, despite Hitler’s suicide and his successor Karl Dönitz’s signed surrender, individual skirmishes continued. As is often the case in war, some soldiers keep fighting long after their nation is defeated, and the triumphant nations have cleaned up their victory parades. Some simply refuse to accept the reality that their kingdom has fallen.
Whilst I’m ever grateful that I have never had to live through a war, or been forced to face combat myself, I am reminded as a child of God that we are indeed engaged in battle on a daily basis. In his letter to the Church at Ephesus the apostle Paul commented:
“12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
(Ephesians 6:12NIV)
Each and every day, you and I are locked in a personal battle with the forces of darkness, as the enemy tries to get a new hold on us. Our responsibility is to never underestimate how evil, evil, really is, and to guard our own personal spot in the battle line, for the war against your soul is fought in daily skirmishes. These skirmishes in your life are, however, not the big battle, Jesus already won that!
REMEMBER this, “8…the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8NLT)
“When Christ died and rose again, Satan was defeated. Jesus struck the decisive blow.” [John Piper]
“Finished” is the word we use after a job is done. “Finished” is also the word Jesus used from the cross (John 19:30). Your daily battles are fought in the context of a war that is over with a foe who is defeated and will ultimately be disarmed and destroyed. Calvary dealt a death-blow to the devil and his legions of demons, and someday they will be cast into the Lake of Fire. But between now and then, he fights on, defeated but not destroyed, refusing to accept the reality that his kingdom has ultimately fallen, using every weapon in his arsenal to convince us that he has power to overcome us.
I am not saying we will win every skirmish and every conflict, but I am saying we will win the war. I am not saying we never will sin and we will never stumble, because we will. We all will. But we can win the battle overall, because we stand in the righteousness of Christ. REMEMBER, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, the stranglehold of Satan is broken. He cannot control us. We can rest in the finished work of Christ. This means that when we face spiritual battles, we are no fighting for victory; we are fighting from it.
“37 …we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37NIV)
God bless you,
Calven
