“The struggle is real because the danger is real. It is the danger of living the whole of our life as one long defense against the reality of our condition, one restless effort to convince ourselves of our virtuousness. Yet Jesus “did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.” (Matt 9:13)
That is the struggle. It is the struggle to die to the false self. But this struggle is far, far beyond our own strength. Anyone who wants to fight his demons with his own weapons is a fool.
The wisdom of the desert is that the confrontation with our own frightening nothingness forces us to surrender ourselves totally and unconditionally to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
These are the written words of Henri Nouwen in his little volume called, “The Way of the Heart” They were written in 1981, but they could not be any more timely or appropriate than they are now. Even as Christians, or maybe especially because we are Christians, we walk through life feeling that we are virtuous people, good people, righteous people – forgetting that any virtue that we display is the virtue of Christ; any good that is within us is the goodness of God made possible by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit; and that it is not our righteousness that the Father sees when He looks at us – it is the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ, who suffered and died as the sacrifice for our sin. We, as Christians, still end up fighting our demons in our own strength and then wonder where God is and why He will not serve us.
Shame on us.
“Anyone who wants to fight his demons with his own weapons is a fool.”
Is this statement even biblical? Read for yourself, “10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 6:10-20 BSB)
Yes. It is.
Repent. Cry to Jesus.
Not just once – with every breath you take.
That is the struggle. It is the struggle to die to the false self. But this struggle is far, far beyond our own strength. Anyone who wants to fight his demons with his own weapons is a fool.
The wisdom of the desert is that the confrontation with our own frightening nothingness forces us to surrender ourselves totally and unconditionally to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
These are the written words of Henri Nouwen in his little volume called, “The Way of the Heart” They were written in 1981, but they could not be any more timely or appropriate than they are now. Even as Christians, or maybe especially because we are Christians, we walk through life feeling that we are virtuous people, good people, righteous people – forgetting that any virtue that we display is the virtue of Christ; any good that is within us is the goodness of God made possible by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit; and that it is not our righteousness that the Father sees when He looks at us – it is the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ, who suffered and died as the sacrifice for our sin. We, as Christians, still end up fighting our demons in our own strength and then wonder where God is and why He will not serve us.
Shame on us.
“Anyone who wants to fight his demons with his own weapons is a fool.”
Is this statement even biblical? Read for yourself, “10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 6:10-20 BSB)
Yes. It is.
Repent. Cry to Jesus.
Not just once – with every breath you take.
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