Just Stand Up

You’ve heard it said that sometimes life can be overwhelming.  Most, if not all of us can attest to that, because we have all experienced the crushing effects of unpleasant circumstances at times.  Some more than others.  There doesn’t seem to be a fair scale that weighs out trouble equally for all.  We envy those who seem to have little, and pity those who have much.

For those of us who have made Jesus our refuge, one of the lessons we soon learn is that our adherence to Him doesn’t necessarily mitigate the trouble that can so easily find us.  We have the promises from Him that troubles can not harm us, because He has overcome the world, but we also have the promise from Him that they will still find us.

Understanding that brings the battlefield from without to within, on the battlefield of our mind, which is ultimately where all battles are won or lost.  Without Christ, that battlefield is still enemy territory, with Christ, it can actually be Holy ground.

Recently condemnation came upon that battlefield for me very strongly, turning into a protracted fight that stretched into two days.  This, in spite of the truth which Romans 8:1 guarantees, that there is “no” condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  But it was vicious and unrelenting, nonetheless.  When it was over, I don’t think I won anything, as much as I thought I was left for dead.  I felt as though my ship had tossed me overboard and I struggled greatly to keep from drowning in the churning deep.

It was on that metaphor though, that I later realized I was thrashing about in merely a few feet of water.  All I had to do to win the battle, was stand up.