by Jim Travis
When faced with a problem, the typical Christian can react in a few different ways:
With extreme passivity — “everything is God’s will; he’ll help if he wants to”
With self-abasement, doubt — “Why is this happening? Am I being punished?”
With anger and resentment — “How could God do this to me! This is bogus!”
While all of these positions look at the problem from a slightly different angle, they all produce the same result; these ideas immobilize you.
Think about it; if you believe that absolutely everything is God’s will, then you will never resist anything, because all of it is his will. So when spiritual forces attack, you’ll just roll over and accept it because, hey, it’s God’s will.
Similarly, if you believe that negative situations are God’s punishment for some wrong you’ve committed, then you still will not resist, because you deserve what is happening… it’s your punishment after all. So you’ll just suffer through the pain.
And the third idea is even more straightforward. You just directly accuse God of causing the problem.
All of these ideas keep you in a mental and spiritual box— never able to move forward, because moving forward requires the power of God. But if you see God as the source of your suffering or somehow complicit in it, then there’s no reason to even ask him for help!
Looking at things this way can seem rather hopeless; but all is not as it appears. The scriptures show us a different perspective; one not of hopeless reassignment to loss, but one of strength, power, and victory.