Mankind’s basic problem is his sinful pride which causes him to confuse his position in the universe with God’s. He often tries to become the deity of his own life. Even when a person does not choose evil as such, good intentions often run amuck. Satan lowers the lights and we end up stumbling. Frightened, we can easily give way to our herd instincts and act in ways we would never act as individuals. Discontent with our Father’s discipline, we call idol makers to erect for us a more comfortable god. We look for God in all the wrong places and often fail to see him right here in the midst of our everyday lives.
The solution to our problem? To truly recognize God as our Creator. The One who created “out of nothing” still can. His steadfast love endures from generation to generation. But that love calls us to “come and die” with Jesus to our own selfish agendas.
He gives us the fellowship of other believers to lend support and give us an arena for service.
He calls us to prayer which is our lifeline from above. He assures us through the Scriptures that Jesus came specifically to confront Satan and that through Christ’s cross and resurrection the decisive battle was won.
Although we are spiritually diseased, Jesus comes to us calling us by our names and healing our diseases. He was raised from death and assures us of our resurrection in Christ. Heaven is waiting for us.
But what about in the meantime? Did God solve our problem in Jesus, promise a home with him forever, and then leave? Are we on our own in our day to day struggles with Satan?
No! Before he left the disciples, Jesus promised another Comforter. He did not promise the kind of comfort that comes when one rests his head on a huge pillow. He promised comfort that stands like a strong fort against all the powers of darkness. He who called order out of darkness, light out of darkness, life out of nothing, is still working to do the same in our lives today. He helps us in our prayers, produces in us the fruits of grace we can never produce on our own. He is our downpayment and guarantee of our future with God. The Holy Spirit, as James W. Clarke has said, is “God on the spot alongside his people, getting inside them, and so imparting himself that the whole man is vitalized and illuminated.” This is the central biblical doctrine of the Spirit. He is in our hearts to comfort, to lead, and to help us win victory over sin.
Praise God for his boundless love toward us in Jesus Christ!