Romans 5:1-5 (NIV): Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
GOD’sWORD tells us that nothing will separate us from His love, which is in CHRIST JESUS, our LORD—neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing.
GOD tells us that He loves us with an EVERLASTING LOVE, and He will never leave us or forsake us, for HE IS our Refuge and our Strength; He IS our Helper and our Comforter. He IS our Savior, our Redeemer, our Provider, and our Protector--our very present help in time of trouble. He is our SHIELD (of Faith), and HIS WORD is our SWORD (of the Spirit), yet He never promised us that as His followers our lives would always be easy nor that everyone would love and applaud us for our good words or good deeds. In fact, JESUS tells us adversity and persecution are to be expected for us as they were for Him and that we too have to pick up our crosses and FOLLOW HIM.
So, in our lives there will be rough mountains (HIGH); there will be valleys (LOW); and there will be challenges and obstacles ahead, some seemingly beyond what we can conceive, comprehend, or bear, YET GOD'sWORD declares, there will always be a way of escape, for we are more than CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM WHO LOVED US; we are OVERCOMERS, VICTORIOUS IN FAITH; and GOD'sWORD says, NO WEAPON formed against us shall prosper, even those tongues that condemn us; and GOD'sWORD proclaims, GREATER is HE who is in us than he who is in the world. So, we are not victims, easily broken and defeated; we are VICTORS, always sustained and empowered by GOD: The FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT.
But after we SURRENDER to CHRIST and CHOOSE to SERVE GOD in soul-winning or in ministry, we often find ourselves in one of two places: in conflict or in comfort. One brother in CHRIST says we, who are the BODY of CHRIST, are divided in two zones: the conflict zone and the comfort zone.
Those of us in the CONFLICT zone are drawn closer to GOD through persecution, adversity, suffering and hardship. We are the ones daily engaged in spiritual warfare, confronting evil firsthand and battling not just in the physical but in the spirit for lives and souls. We’re in the trenches, in the highways and byways, in the streets and on the corners, in the hospitals, the mental wards, and the prisons fighting the good fight of faith and fishing for souls; we’re in hostile territories, countries, and nations endangering our lives to spread the GOSPEL of a RISEN SON, an ETERNAL SAVIOR called JESUS, the CHRIST.
Then there are those of us in the COMFORT zone whose lives seem relatively calm, prosperous, and carefree. We love GOD and we serve Him, but we mostly know Him in these times of favor, blessings, and peace. We teach, minister, counsel, serve, and preach, often in the local community or church, sometimes in our neighborhoods, on our jobs, in our schools or on the streets. Sometimes, we confine GOD within the four walls of our churches; other times we serve God outside of the box because we realize that WE ARE the CHURCH and we can CARRY Him with us wherever we go, REVEALING and RELEASING Him in our homes, on our jobs, in our families, and TAKING Him wherever there are lost souls who are in pain, who are hurting, who are in desperate need, so He can do what He does best: draw, love, forgive, save, redeem, deliver, and heal.
But whether we live in the conflict zone or the comfort zone, GOD LOVES US ALL, and we should remember Romans 8:28 which lets us know that GOD IS IN CONTROL and MORE THAN ABLE to USE ANYTHING IN OUR LIVES, GOOD or BAD, for HIS PURPOSE and OUR GOOD, for GOD'sWORD declares that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So, whether we are in conflict or comfort, GOD CAN USE US, OUR GIFTS, OUR TIME, OUR TREASURES, and OUR TALENTS. And this is one pearl of wisdom one minister has found in GOD'sWORD, through the pages of history, and in the nature of our own lives: “Adversity is the test of faith; prosperity is the test of integrity.”
