As a child of God we are many things: redeemed, freed from sin, forgiven, joint heir with Jesus and much more but do you realize that we are also soldiers? That’s right! The moment you asked Jesus into your heart you became a soldier in the Lord’s Army! Once a child you were enlisted into the greatest battle that engulfs this world, a spiritual battle. The battles we see every day can be very disturbing but the most important battle is over the souls of men and women! We are in a spiritual battle every day.
Every day we face trials, tribulations, doubt, worry, self-esteem issues, financial problems, ideology differences, morality issues, hate, conflicts in the Middle East, and much more. It is depressing to turn on the TV at night and watch the news! It seems like all we see is the great evil that engulfs and ignites the passions of people. Hate rages, immorality runs wild, morals are flushed down the drain, violence runs rampant! What are true Christians supposed to do? Hide, back down, move to a small tropical island with just your family?
The answer is found in II Timothy 2:3 – “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
We as true Christians must endure hardness! That means we will face hard times, difficult situations, and suffer trouble. This will all happen because we live in a sin cursed, sin filled world. We must endure! We must not give up, we must not quit, we must run and hide! We must face the troubles head on. Why? Because we are to strive to be good soldiers for Jesus Christ. A good soldier keeps pushing forward, a good soldier helps other soldiers stay in the battle, a good soldier listens to the commands of his LEADER, a good soldier will fight to the death!
Today remember you are a soldier for God fighting in a spiritual battle right were you are at, don’t back down, don’t be afraid, don’t quit! We have Jesus as our commander-in-chief. Let’s endure the hardness and come out victorious!
Pastor Chris
abidingfaithbaptist.com 