CLAIMING THE PRIZE

Isaiah 25:1-28:13; Galatians 3:10-22; Psalm 61:1-8; Proverbs 23:17-18

“On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

“What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.”

“Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.”

“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”

I hate to repeat myself, but it is as if the Holy Spirit is making a point that I have yet to fully grasp. I have been saved. But I continue to live and think as if I am a victim, as if I still need rescuing. I continue to regard myself as relatively powerless in the battle against sin and self. Ego still drives too many of my decisions, as well as my overall perspective. In short, I continue to live an unchanged life because I have not fully bought into the idea that my life already has been changed. I am free to let go of my victim mentality. I can choose to be bold instead of timid. I can begin trusting that “still small voice” inside to direct and guide me through life. I can, in summary, decide to live in victory rather than defeat. All it takes is a commitment and consistent dedication to the process.

Scripture continues, obviously, to lead me back to this idea. We who believe in Christ have already been, are and will continue to be eternally saved, at least as long as we do not affirmatively decide to reject the gift. Our home has been spiritually relocated. We do not have to put up with the guilt, weakness, insufficiency and poor self-esteem that dogged us before we knew our Savior. The Spirit has quite literally given us the power, through Him, to cast out those demons. We just have to do it. We have to be intentionally focused on living victoriously, and we must not allow ourselves to accept, or even consider accepting, anything less.

Let that sink in; it is a completely new way of thinking for most of us. The only way to truly live the Christian life and fully experience the power of Jesus is with the pedal to the metal and the brakes disengaged. We may talk about victory in Christ and taking control of our own destinies in His power, but precious few of us really do it on a consistent basis. Even when we start out afresh and bold, spiritual resistance and friction can still eventually take their toll, and we wake one day to find ourselves mired back in the “same old, same old.” Each time this happens, it adds one more layer to the hardening of our hearts. If we allow ourselves to accept it, the next opportunity to break free is even tougher to grasp. If we aren’t careful and intentional, we can become blinded to the potential of the Spirit altogether, simply because we have never rely fully on it.

Victory is never achieved passively. If we want to win – whether in sports, on the job, or in the spiritual realm – we have to not just play, but play to win. We have to commit to a team. None of us are as good or as strong individually as we need to be to meet and overcome all of life’s challenges. We need to be humble enough to cultivate and accept help. We need to practice. None of us is perfect. We must allow ourselves, as Christ allows us, the freedom to fail, and we must be willing to risk failure. We need to seek out and accept good coaching. At least as many games are won in the locker rooms and classrooms of life as on the field of play. Good players almost always have good coaches, and take the coaching they get to heart, incorporating it into their game. (When it comes to the game of life, Christians have the best Coach there is, so we should pay particular attention to what He says!) Finally, we need to be confident in all our preparation when we take the field. No amount of conditioning or workouts will ever overcome cowardice. If we as Christians are unwilling to step off the ledge and really entrust our lives to what and Who we know to be true, we may as well stay in the dugout. Those who are too chicken to even take the field (think Saul facing Goliath) can never help their team or themselves. Like David, we must make a decision of faith, however illogical it may seem to even think about overcoming our worst enemies. We must, if we are to claim the life Christ died to give us, cast timidity aside and ratchet up our courage. Only those unafraid to take the field against the toughest opponents have a chance of claiming the prize.