always against the flow

As believers, our pursuit of holiness is countered on every side by the continual, relentless push of ideas, things, activities sponsored by a society which would place God's rightful crown on its own head.  Every day we must put on our defenses, the armor spoken of in Ephesians 6, our only offensive weapon being "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (vs. 17)

The torrent of culture, the desires to conform, the despondency that can quickly replace our faith in God's goodness all require action on our part.  Who does God think we are?  Has He given us more than we can handle?  Can we daily take up our cross and not be crushed by its weight?

Returning to Ephesians 6, verse 10 reminds us to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power."  The trick is to remember the source of our strength - the Lord, who has mighty power, who is greater than any challenge we can face during the day.   It is easy to be lulled into complacency, to stop facing upstream and to drift for a bit, but we were not made to be just bits of flotsam floating along, impactless.  No, we are the rocks in the river, held fast by our foundation beneath the water, unavoidably confronting modernity's fierce current.  And so we pray along with our old friend Paul:

"¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

Lord, make us also today fearless in proclaiming the good news of the gospel.  Make us rocks.