Of Battles and Surrender

I had another weird dream last night. I was part of a contingent of American soldiers holding down a building under assault from a great number of Germans. We were out manned and out of ammunition. The question was whether or not to surrender. I awoke before having to make the fatal decision. I wish I could figure out where that dream came from. 

As Christians,  we are at war. Jesus talked about it often. We have more challenges than whether to surrender or fight on. For us, everything is different, including what constitutes victory or defeat and who determines the outcome.

If you look at church prayer lists, we fight principally on two fronts: health and finances. As to health, you would think we believe we should live forever. To succumb to disease or injury seems the most horrible thing in the world. It’s as if we had no idea, much less appreciation, of a forever life. Our bodies are designed so that health is always a diminishing asset. We have a responsibility to take good care of these temples, but it’s because we need to be useful in the work of God and not eternal residents of them. Our health is not a measure of our faith or even our blessings. Victory in health comes in being able to do all we are called to do with great joy, including meeting Him when it’s all over here. Health victory is when we leave this body.

Our financial struggles are even stranger. Jesus had no place to lay his head. He marveled at the lilies of the field and the birds of the air and their reliance on God. Our financial goals here are not to gather as much as we can. From my knowledge of the well-to-do, no amount is ever enough and no savings or treasure is ever really secure. We need to be more like the potent missionary, George Mueller, who set the table for him, his staff and orphanage charges to eat even when the pantry was bare and was blessed when a bread truck broke down in front of his building. Financial victory is achieving complete trust not self-reliance. 

The one thing absent from my dream was the thought that God would defeat the Germans even when we had no ammo.

 

Be the first to reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *