Day 2372 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

1 John 5:4 NIV

This right here is one amazing truth and truly powerful reminder that we all need right now. We see so much going on and it wears on us. It starts to consume our thoughts. It starts to drudge up those old worries and fears that we thought were behind us. We start wondering how bad things will become, how close to home will the chaos hit, and if we're ready for what may come next. All of the unrest and unraveling around us is bound to have an impact. But this verse helps us remember just where that impact should end!

It ends when it meets our faith. The things going on around us are big. They're troublesome. They're rattling. They're eye-opening. They're sad. They're scary. They're a reminder that our world is so messed up that there may not be much that can be done to fix it. But even in the midst of all that gloom we can still find peace. Even when things are falling apart around us we can still find rest for our minds and our souls. We have been redeemed through Christ and reborn into a new life with God, an eternal life that nothing in this world can alter or control. Nothing that happens around us or to us can ever change His promise!

But it's easy to start thinking that we're all at the mercy of this world and the wickedness that controls it. It's easy to adopt this defeated mindset that forces us to live in the shadows afraid of the inevitable. We doubt that we can make a difference. We doubt that anything we do matters. We doubt that it's even worth trying. We may even start doubting whether or not our faith is worth the impending ridicule and persecution that the Bible tells us is coming. But we can't afford to go there. We can't afford to let this world make us doubt something that has implications that last far beyond these lives and this globe.

Friends, we can't let what's happening around us make us doubt the one thing that brings us hope and peace in the middle of the madness. We can't afford to let go of God because we're afraid of what this world make think or do if we don't. Who cares? This world and our lives in it are just a drop in eternity. So don't let go of the bigger picture, the bigger promise just because of a fleeting situation that's uncomfortable. We're starting to see some of the persecution that we've been told is coming. And it's going to get worse before it gets better. Now's the time to get as close and hold as tightly to God as we possibly can!

Just remember the message of this verse in 1 John. There is victory over this world. There is victory over the evil there in. There is victory over the chaos, the hatred, the judgment, the persecution. There is hope and there is peace because there is the promise that He has overcome this place, and since we've been born again into a new life in Christ, we have overcome it too! We get to share in His victory over everything in and of this world. So don't live your life in fear, in doubt, or in this mindset of worry about what's going on out there. He has sealed the victory over whatever may come. So why live in fear of something that's already been figured out?

As I said yesterday, our faith will see us through whatever happens in this life. Things may get weird as we move forward along these journeys through a world that is running from God and His truth. We will see more disorder and more turmoil as this place moves further away from Him. And some of it may very well be brought right into our own lives. But don't allow it to make you forget the promise found in this verse. Don't forget the victory we have in our faith. Sure, things may get worse but none of it can change what God has already finalized. So just walk it out my friends. Even if the road gets rough we still know where the road leads!

#LeaveNoSoulUntold