Never Give In

Ephesians 6:10-14 ^“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then.”

At the close of World War II, England’s Prime Minister - Winton Churchill stated; “Britain, other nations thought, had drawn a sponge across her slate. But instead our country stood in the gap. There was no flinching and no thought of giving in; and by what seemed almost a miracle to those outside these Islands, though we ourselves never doubted it, we now find ourselves in a position where I say that we can be sure that we have only to persevere to conquer. You cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imagination not much can be done. Those people who are imaginative see many more dangers than perhaps exist; certainly many more than will happen; but then they must also pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination. But for everyone, surely, what we have gone through in this period, surely from this period of ten months this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never-in nothing.”

Revelation 20:9-11, 14-15 “But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

We really could re-write Churchill’s speech to fit today's spiritual battle. We may be in a day and age where secular humanism thinks that Christianity has had a sponge across its slate. But instead, our faith shall stand in the gap. There will be no flinching and no thought of giving in; and by what seemed almost a miracle to those outside the faith, though we ourselves never doubted it, we now find ourselves in a position where we can be sure that we have only to persevere to conquer. You cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes sensual and materialistic imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without a sure hope that God is in control and will prevail, not much can be done. Doubtful and fearful people who are imaginative see many more dangers than perhaps exist; certainly many more than will happen; but then they must also pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching promise of God. But for everyone, surely, what we have gone through in this period of grace, surely from this period of atheistic humanism this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never-in nothing. Stand firm with the full armor of God and persevere. There may not be justice yet in this lost and dying world, but know that in the end God wins. Never give in.

In Christ, Brian