One time a lady wrote and asked me this question: "Why do Christians have to continually fight the battle of faith? If Jesus has truly defeated Satan, why is there still strife in our daily lives?"
This is a good question asked by many. The answer may seem simple; that's because it is. Jesus has defeated Satan and has given us authority over Satan. Faith is the catalyst that activates the authority.
We can live victorious lives if we will use the authority given to us by Jesus. However, the enemy will lie and attack every way possible to get the Christian to lose faith. The war is not over, but it has been won.
God is not Restricted by Time
You may ask, "How can this be? How can the war be won if it is not over?" The answer again is simple. God is a multidimensional God. Too often we limit Him to the three physical dimensions, plus time that we are confined to.
God is not limited by time or space or any object or being. He created time and can move freely in it. Before creation He is. God has the ability to know the future without the future being predestined. It sounds like a paradox to man, but it's not to God.
It's Over Before it Starts
Several years ago I wanted to watch a Kansas City Royals baseball game on television. I am not a big sports fan, but I have always loved baseball. Growing up in the suburbs of Kansas City, I naturally am a Royals fan.
The game I wanted to watch was on during the day, and that particular day I had several meetings so I came up with a good idea. I would set my video recorder and watch it later. I tried to keep anyone from telling me about the game, especially the score. That way when I got home and watched the game, to me it would be like watching it live.
Even though the game was over and the outcome had already been decided, to me it would seem like I was watching it as it was actually happening.
Well, even the best plans sometimes fail. While I was on my way home to see the game, I turned on the radio. It was an easy listening station, and I felt safe that they wouldn't say anything about the ball game.
I was wrong. The announcer evidently was a baseball fan also, and he couldn't wait to tell about the unusual game that had taken place that day. The Royals were behind by six runs in the bottom of the ninth and came back after two men were out to win the game. I was happy, but I really didn't want to know; but I did.
When I got home, I decided to watch the game anyway. I popped some popcorn, put in the videotape and sat back to watch the Royals make their comeback and win.
No sooner had I sat down than the doorbell rang. I left the tape running and answered the door. It was a friend and I invited him in. He asked what I was doing. I told him I had just started watching a ball game. He got excited and sat down to watch it with me. He didn't know the game we were watching was a tape. He thought it was live.
The Royals were playing poorly. Every inning they became farther behind. My friend became depressed. He was an avid Royals fan, and for him to sit there and watch them lose was more than he could bear.
At one point he got up and left the room. As he was leaving he sniped at me. "How can you sit there so calmly and enjoy this game? How can you call yourself a Royals fan?" He went on, "I can't take this. I have to leave for a while. I'll be back in a few minutes and see how they are doing then."
My friend came back and watched the game to the end. When the game was over, he was very excited at how it had turned out.
Then I told him it was a tape of a game played earlier that day. "That's why you were so calm. You knew how the game would turn out." He was right. It was at that point God spoke to my heart with a great truth.
I was calm during the game because I knew beyond any shadow of doubt the Royals were going to win. We Christians know how things will turn out because God has told us in His Word. In the end, we win. The outcome has already been decided. It was easy to have faith in the Royals when I knew they were going to win on the tape because they had already played the game and won.
It should be the same way with us as Christians. Jesus has already fought the fight and won. If we can grasp that truth and act on it in faith, we can live a stress-free, worry-free life. It is easy to have faith when we know and actually believe the truth.
Satan has been defeated. Jesus has already paid the price for our salvation and healing. The game is over and He (Jesus) has won. As Christians we are the body of Christ, and He is the head. We are a part of the winning team. The victory is ours.
When we know that the game is won, it doesn't matter how things look in the second, the eighth, or even in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs. The truth is Jesus has won, and we Christians are on the winning side. That truth is a faith building truth.
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