August 4, 2020 – Click here to listen
I read a Bible verse yesterday that seems appropriate for the moral insanity in which we find our nation where crime rates especially murders are increasing at astounding rates. As Christians watched Portland thugs burning stacks of Bibles on top of an American flag over the weekend with nearly all of the media and Democrat politicians cheering them on, they are appalled and have grown weary of it all.
The prophet Daniel warns of a time when Satan will “wear down the saints
of the Highest One” (Dan. 7:25). Francis Frangipane stated that how this occurs in the final hours of the age remains to be seen, but this battle is already occurring today. The final effect of what seems like never-ending delays is that believers are worn out.
God gave Daniel a vision of the end of the age. Here is what he wrote: “I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them” (Dan. 7:21). This is the nature of the battle. There are times we feel war storming against our souls, overpowering us. But the prophet said the sense of overpowering continued only “until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom” (v. 22).
Hey, it’s not just down here on earth that followers of Jesus are weary, there is a place under the altar in Heaven where the saints continue to ask, “How long, O Lord?” (Rev. 6:10). Fifty-eight times in the Bible, from beginning to end, the phrase how long is echoed by those who grew weary with waiting.
There is a mystery that we cannot comprehend about God. Why doesn’t He step in and pass judgement? Why doesn’t he judge those who slaughter innocent babies, murder, steal, rape, rob, and pillage? He desires for us to have patience and perseverance and not lose heart. He wants us to trust Him. He is purifying our souls and building our character with fire.
Yes Satan is allowed his theft of our joy, strength, and passion. His goal is to wear us down hoping that we will wear out, quit and give up. Don’t give in to him. We are at war!
I have come to the conclusion that we must fight the good fight until the last dog dies, and we enter heaven. Perseverance is not easy, especially when fighting hard but still getting beat down and seemingly losing the battle. It is when we quit praying and just concede that the battle is lost that we must avoid at all costs.
My strategy is to rest if I must, but never quit. I can only do that because the Bible tells me that all ends well, and God will claim the ultimate victory and there will be rest for the weary. (Although I seriously wonder if I can quell my excitement enough to rest in the presence of Jesus and walking around heaven.) My friends there is victory in Jesus . . . As for Satan, well, he is a loser who is going to suffer for eternity . . .
Revelation 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.