If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with camp and I would live there if I could. It’s a place where I can be at rest and as my dear friend puts it, “It is a place that stirs my affection for the Lord.” When I am caught up in the busyness of life, my soul longs to go back to camp, my place of quiet retreat. All of this was true of my last week at RYM camp.
Throughout the week, I found myself struggling with lies from Satan as He was trying to rid me of my confidence in Christ. This is a lie I deal with often, and many days I feel as if I might not really be saved. As I try to fight this lie on my own, which is completely impossible, I find myself hiding my struggle from the defeater of lies; my Heavenly Father. This spiritual warfare can take over what I know is true, and that is my security in Jesus.
But, the Lord used a speaker at camp to teach me that He still calls me His beloved and remains beside me even in my unbelief. God has given me reminders this week that I am fully known by Him, and I must only rely on the blood of Jesus for my salvation. He has shown me that I cannot fear God’s wrath because I never received God’s wrath. He gave me the sweetest reminder that I am pure in the eyes of Jesus and none of that was my own earnings.
Jesus is the one who lifts me on His back and carries me straight to the Father; I wasn’t the one who voluntarily asked for Him. He came running after ME, and I am wrapped around His finger. Because I am completely one with Christ, nothing could ever separate this holy connection, and I will never be able to run from Him because His hand is clasped around my body. I did not realize how bad I needed all of these reminders and Jesus used this precious week to bless my heart by carrying me straight to the throne of grace.
So why do I say all of this and ramble about my week at camp? Because I know that the paralysis of doubt is a real thing. It’s so real that it can steal our joy and freedom in Christ. I know and I have experienced how real and miserable it is, and I want to communicate that you are not alone in the struggle. There are even great theologians and Bible “heroes” like Charles Spurgeon and John the Baptist who have faced this war in their hearts.
I know how hard it is, but I also know that our security in Jesus doesn’t rest in the strength of our faith, it rests in the object of our faith. Jesus, who endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2). I know and I am confident that we have a King in Heaven who fights for us and we are to rest in the fact that we are His chosen. Therefore, we can be knocked to our knees crying out, “Abba Father!” As the fight with Satan continues, let us not view it as a losing battle. Remember and delight in your Victor, and therefore, your victory in Jesus.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 ESV
A little snippet of the best week ever. #rymfloridaforever
simplyblair 