Day 205

“And they overcame … For this reason, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” Revelation12:11,12. (NASB)

There is no aspect of human experience that arouses our energies faster than the prospect of immediate death. The drowning man struggles desperately to keep his head above water. A woman who falls off a cliff clings desperately to the branch of a bush growing out of the rock near the top. The dying patient searches the Internet for some hope of a cure. Impending death sets the full powers of our being into action. Yet our best efforts are not good enough. While death can sometimes be postponed, the ultimate sentence will only be cancelled in the earth’s final generation. Our only hope in the face of death is to trust completely in God’s power to save us even beyond death. V11 therefore, implies that those who overcome do so on the basis of complete trust in God. They place their lives in His hands, do whatever He says, and rely on His power to do those things that seem impossible in their own strength.

Satan is able to accuse us continually because we continually sin (1John 1:8.) Thankfully, the one-time sacrifice of the Lamb of God justifies them as long as they maintain the faith connection(v:9). Satan’s accusations toward the believer are essentially made against the perfect righteousness of Christ. This is how “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.” Christ’s work on the cross takes into account all our sins, both past, present, and future. Once we come to faith, satan now appeals to the Judge Who is also the Justifier (Rom8:33). He is overcome. Jesus’ victory is ours.
While we might not always ‘feel’ our faith is strong, we need to constantly remind ourselves that our salvation is not based on how we feel; be my feelings what they will, Jesus is my saviour still, is the testimony of Jesus in a redeemed life.

The blood of the Lamb was shed already in the Garden of Gethsemane. Drops of blood fell to the ground (Luke.22:44) as Jesus battled to align His will with that of His Father (Matt.26:39). The root of human self-will is found in the first garden, the Garden of Eden. There Adam and Eve rejected God’s will and asserted their own (Gen 3:1-6). When Christ won the battle in another garden, He won it for the whole human race.

I don’t know about you, but I face a battle with my will every day. While I don’t have to battle with addictions to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, I often struggle with more “Christian” versions of addiction. I struggle to choose the right kind and the right amount of food. I let things at work affect the way I feel. I allow negative and ungodly thoughts into my mind. I’m glad I don’t have to battle with alcohol or drugs but, frankly, the battle to control my thoughts and my actions often go hard. Weakness of will was deeply rooted in the human condition after the Fall in Eden.

Whatever one’s addiction, the path to victory is the same. Victory over sin is not really possible until we absorb into the very core of our being the victory of the cross. All our sins and failures were completely exhausted in Jesus Christ at the cross (1Pet.2:24). When we realize that our record of failure, our sense of shame and worthlessness, was blotted out in Him, we can begin to align our will with God’s and break the chains of the past. We are freed from the past to become free in the present.

In my experience this victory comes in two stages. First, we need to grasp the truth of Rev.12:11. The battle has already been won at the cross. Second, it takes time for battered and abused people to feel what they already know. Emotions are a “lagging indicator.” Don’t expect your feelings to change instantly just because you read this. You may need to assert the truth of the cross many times before your feelings and your will buy into that victory.