“Are you ready to rumble?” I recall hearing those words booming from the TV as the announcer introduced the contestants in a wrestling match. No-I don’t watch wrestling, but when you have as many kids and grandkids as I do you will hear a lot of things that you aren’t really interested in. I have no idea why those words came to my mind this morning, but I will tell you what I was thinking.
Yesterday I made this statement-” All this makes me wish I was 20 years younger.” The context for that statement had to do with the way God is blessing. I don’t have time to tell you all about it, but our church family knows what I mean. Let me sum it up like this. For no earthly reason, and certainly not because of any exceptional qualities to be found in us, God has richly blessed our church family in an unusual way this past year. The only explanation I have is grace!
But I have been preaching long enough to know that, when God is blessing , Satan will be fighting-that is for certain. So, “Are you ready to rumble?” I don’t mean to discourage you. I’m not looking for a fight and I’m not saying things are going to get worse. I’m simply saying that anytime there is progress there will be resistance. Opportunities bring opposition and obstacles. We must be prepared. Satan doesn’t give ground, we must take it. He doesn’t give up without a fight. Neither should we.
What God has in store for us is well worth whatever price we must pay to get it. God set the Promised Land before the Israelites and assured them of victory, but they had to enter the fray to gain the blessing. So it is with us. In light of all this I want to give you these words of advice:
Expect opposition and prepare for it. Don’t be surprised by it and don’t be fearful of it. Be thankful for what God has done, giving Him alone all of the glory, and get excited about what He is doing. Trust Him when the going gets tough and never forget this—we are fighting from victory, not for victory. Jesus Christ has already defeated the devil and through Him “we are more than conquerors”(Romans 8:37). Clothe yourself in “the whole armour of God” and you will “be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”(Ephesians 6:11). So, “Are you ready to rumble?”—THINK ABOUT IT!
