Not long ago, one of the Sunday school teachers at our church approached my wife to share something my daughter had said in her class. As the story was relayed to me, I would have loved to think it was due to our outstanding parental abilities and biblical teaching, but I dared not. For it was clear only God could have revealed such simple, yet profound truth in the heart of a child. Her statement was no more than, “Jesus takes us from being worriers to warriors,” but in the context from which it was shared, it impacted her teachers, her friends and now, her parents. It’s truly a gift to gain spiritual truths from my child, and my prayer is that she always hears so clearly from God, trusts Him so completely and remains far from the various worries so many of us adults fall victim to – three in particular:

Revenge: How often do we worry about whether something is fair and how someone did us wrong? Clearly, we have a right to be upset when victimized and treated unfairly. We also have a right to even demand justice, but who delivers it? Hollywood’s heroes often encourage us to take revenge in our own hands, rather than allow the law, or God to handle things. For what if they aren’t harsh enough, or take too long? Yet, we know, as believers, retaliation is not the answer. For one of the reasons God established government was to administer justice (Romans 13:4), and He clearly commands us to treat our enemies with kindness and leave vengeance to Him (Romans 12:19). Thus, we needn’t worry and fret, but forgive and trust God – and not necessarily for the abuser’s benefit, but largely for our own.

Reward: Likewise, how often do we worry about being recognized and rewarded for our hard work, sacrifice and good deeds? This type of worry may also be categorized as “fear of failure”. Thus, we become obsessed with success. But who’s definition and measuring stick of success is being used – God’s, or man’s? Again, as believers, our life success is not determined by how much we acquire, but rather how we live and give for Christ. We then trust Him with the rewards, which may not always be monetary, for the fruits of the spirit are not counted in dollars (John 14:27).

Repair: This is the worry that often originates from the seemingly good intention of self improvement. For we can try all the therapies, self help books and philosophies available in order to make ourselves better, but consider, whose standards are being prescribed? After all, if we can fix ourselves, what need is there to be saved by grace? Until we realize only Jesus can repair what is broken, and straighten what is crooked, we will remain enslaved by legalism and haunted by defeat. For only the power of Christ can truly heal and set us free (Psalm 147:3).

Application: “Victory Through Faith” – 1 John 5:4-5
Responding to all the worldly chaos the way God instructs us to goes against our natural inclinations and seems impossible – and that’s the point. It’s an unfair world, there is chaos and there is evil, and we can not respond to these onslaughts on our own. It takes Christ living in and through us to make the impact He desires for us. Therefore, we will only experience victory in life when we surrender our life to Christ – for His victory is ours and only His power can change a worldly worrier into His kingdom’s warrior.

by Dagan Sharpe @ CareerCall.wordpress.com