Winning the War

He was coming at me...with a sword, and not just any sword, but a sharpened, two edged sword. And, he was fast. But, no matter, I thought, because I'd studied Aikido, a Japanese martial art. I'd trained against attacks with (and without) weapons. I'd also studied western style fencing, and wrestling. I was well trained and agile with excellent balance. Although I had no weapons other than my hands, I was not afraid. In fact, I was even enjoying myself, and was proud of it. No matter which way my attacker sliced or stabbed at me, I just got out of the way. I could dodge the best offense he could muster: not a problem. I felt like I could go on like this for ever.

The problem was that my opponent was Jesus. And, even though it was like a game, after a time, I DID gradually begin to wear out. I was getting tired and slowing down. My opponent, however, was not slowing down or tiring out. I realized that regardless of how well trained I was, regardless of how fit I was or could have been, regardless of how clever I might be, Jesus was stronger, smarter and had greater endurance. God does not wear out. He doesn't need to sleep. He doesn't even get tired. So, how did I win?

Sometimes, if you lose one battle, it can cause you to win a war. And, if it does, isn't it worth it?

Additionally, over time, I figured out that Jesus wasn't trying to kill me. Yes, he was attacking me with a sword, but he kept going for my arms. He was trying to cut them off not because it would damage me, but to replace them. He wanted me to be able to use his arms and hands. The Bible says that we are to be Jesus' hands and feet and he wanted me to have hands and arms that would never wear out, that would never grow tired. If I could just give up my pride and stop trying to be clever; if I could just give in to Jesus and stop trying to be in control, then I could stop fighting with him as my opponent and start fighting with him as my strength and my deliverer. By using His body parts, I could run and not grow weary, walk and not faint. By giving up and letting Jesus win the battle, by letting Jesus have his way with my arms, I could just change sides! By surrendering to Jesus, we win in the end. After surrendering, I no longer had to fight alone, and with God on my side, I might not always FEEL like I could go on fighting forever, but it would still be true. And, it would be more true, in fact, than if I just FELT like I could go on forever. As Christians, we win in the end.

Why This Matters to YOU!

Are you fighting with Jesus, or against him? We are all engaged in a war. Are you sure you're on the right side? I had the above dream about 13 years ago, and I'm still finding ways to give up more of my life to him. And every time I do, my life gets better. What is there in your life that Jesus is trying replace with something better? All these years later, I've just recently started getting to the point where I can tell people about this dream. I had to give up a lot of my pride and fears. I had to keep letting Jesus give me more of himself so that I could learn to trust him enough to really tell people about him in a powerful way. What about you? What's your story? I'd like to hear it. Please leave a comment...whether you love or hate this post in terms of style or content, if you have questions or a link to your own blog with more details, it is all welcome. And, aside from how this post about my dream might affect you, is there someone else you could talk to about something supernatural in your life that might help them? I expect I'll post again on related topics, because they are important. Until then, keep thinking about these kinds of questions. Find ways to let Jesus win in your life. You'll be glad you did. Thanks.