Why We Fail To Experience Peace, Joy And Victory In Jesus Christ
Over the past few days the Lord has really burdened my heart about one of the most disappointing experiences for me personally when ministering to women standing for marriage restoration, which is the inability to help them understand what it takes to actually walk through this difficult time of our lives with the awesome peace, joy and victory Jesus died to give us. But any time we refuse to do what it takes to get control of our thoughts, we give Satan control and the power to do exactly what Jesus told us he came to do in John 10:10, when He said The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. And this is a decision every one of us has to make for ourselves, because no one else has the power to take control of our thoughts and words to make them obedient to Christ and every word and promise found in the Bible.
So it’s up to us to make the choices and decisions to do (or not to do) what the Bible tells us it takes to be victorious and experience all of the blessings, protection and provisions Jesus came to give us. Look what Matthew 3:1-2 (AMP) says, IN THOSE days there appeared John the Baptist, preaching in the Wilderness (Desert) of Judea And saying, Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Romans 14:17-18 tells us For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. And 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” So it’s very clear that this is something all of us have to make INTENTIONAL and DELIBERATE decisions to DO, and until we do, there isn’t anything anyone else can do to help us, even the Lord. He tells us how to do what we have to do to win the battle, but it’s up to us to DO it, and when we choose not to trust Him with all of our hearts and not to delight in Him and commit ourselves to HIS way or acknowledge Him in everything we do, we can not count on Him to make our paths straight or to give us the desires of our hearts. I know we don’t like to hear it, but other than His love, everything else from God is conditional, and that’s why James 1:22-25 says Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. And we must remember that we CAN do ALL things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13), and when we feel we can’t, it’s because we’re not trusting Him and relying on Him for our strength. Instead we’re trying to do things based on our own understanding, strength, and ability and not His. That’s why John 15:5 says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. So these are decisions each of us have to make and I pray that everyone struggling with these decisions will make them sooner rather than later, because when we give in to thoughts and speak words contrary to the instruction and counsel from the word, we’re working against our own best interest and the restoration of our marriages and families. And we can’t EVER let Satan convince us that we don’t have the grace and strength to do what the word teaches, because he’s a liar and deception and doubt are HIS game and when we play into that, we will always lose. But Jesus came to give us victory over the devil and every weapon and thought he brings against us, but it’s up to us to make a decision about whether or not we will accept the victory and blessings Jesus died to give us.
As I said, this is something that’s been heavy on my heart for several days now, and I fully intended to write about it last Friday, but problems with my internet service prevented me from doing that. And like the Lord often works, I found out why that REALLY happened this morning when I listened to Dr. Creflo Dollar’s TV broadcast message, because it so perfectly ties into this post! So I hope anyone who still struggles with experiencing the peace, joy and victory we should have in Jesus Christ will make a commitment to spending more time in the word in order to draw the strength and wisdom we all need from it and listen very carefully to the following messages from Dr. Dollar from today and tomorrow.
Working the Kingdom of God System (Part 1)
Working the Kingdom of God System (Part 2)
And the following passages of scripture are a few we would do well to read and study until we’re able to fully understand them and PUT them into PRACTICE: