Have you met people who have been through hell and back but they carry themselves with such grace that it baffles you? People who have been through the trenches but they have this glow in them that their resilience turns you on?
These kind of people drive the devil nuts because after everything he has thrown at them to crush them, they usually come out on the other side glowing, praising, and with more unwavering faith than before. They are the bitten, but not bitten kind of people.
When I think of such people in the Bible, I think of Paul. In Philippians 4:4, while in prison, he urges us to rejoice in the Lord all times.
How could he rejoice in prison?
Paul understood that there was nothing that could beat the future glory awaiting him, of sitting with his dad, God. So, no matter what the devil threw at him, it did nothing to him. His faith was steadfast. He had made up his mind to be all in for Jesus. No prison, stripping, and shipwreck could deter him. Yes, as human, these things were overwhelming, even painful. Yet, although bitten, he wasn’t bitten.
The day Jesus was crucified, the devil danced thinking he had won. That Friday, he thought he was the winner. The silence, the darkness, Jesus death, and the tomb was enough evidence that he had won. But what the devil didn’t know was that Sunday was coming. The devil thought wrong and he was basing his evidence on the wrong things. On Sunday, Jesus rose from that grave triumphantly. He publicly displayed to the devil who the real winner was.
In Acts 28:3–6, while sailing to Rome as a prisoner, Paul and other prisoners had a shipwreck. They had to make a stop on the Island of Malta. While there, gathering brushwood, a viper fastened itself on his hand. But Paul shook it off, it fell into the fire and nothing happened to him.
Every time the devil rises up against us like a flood, God raises up a standard for us. And we come out of the fire, storm, and wilderness victorious and unharmed. In this life, we will be crushed, persecuted, and hard-pressed. But even though we are crushed on every side, we aren’t destroyed.
Ron Kenoly beautifully sang,
“I’ve been tested,
My faith has been tried,
Satan has attempted to destroy my life,
He’s robbed, abused, accused, and stole,
He’s done everything he could do,
To conquer my soul,
But,
I still got joy,
After all I’ve been through.”
The next time you are crushed by the storms of life, let it build your faith muscle. Remember the eternal glory that awaits you.
