I continue to be in wonder of our God who gives victory, peace, and assurance in the midst of trouble.  Jesus declares to us in John 16:33 , “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  Later, in Revelation 12:11 He says about the saints gathered at the victory over Satan, “They overcame the accuser by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

In Mark 7 we read, “Jesus…taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: ‘Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain… Like seed sown among thorns, some people hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.’”

We cannot shrink back from trouble.  We must advance against our opposition, against the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire of earthly things, to bring down the enemy.  Jesus has given you authority here on earth to have victory.  Take up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and use it today.

*This image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.