“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to Me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.” (John 16:20 NLT)
Seeking to bring comfort to His disciples as He prepared them for His departure from this world, Jesus mentioned that while they grieved, the world would rejoice. C. S. Lewis picked up on that theme when he wrote: “My prayer is that when I die, all of hell rejoices that I am out of the fight.”
It reminded me of the last words of Kari Jobe’s song, The Cause of Christ, which say: “I pray it’s said about my life that I lived more to build Your name than mine.” May I assure you that if your life is being lived to the Lord’s honor and fame more than to yours, hell will rejoice when your life comes to an end on earth. The happy reality is, even after we’re gone our legacy for the cause of our Savior will continue.
Here’s the truth, living a life devoted to the cause of Christ that will cause Satan to rejoice when we die isn’t something that will happen by accident. Loving Jesus and living for His honor and fame are byproducts of a focused life, they’re the result of a disciplined life lived with intention. What might that look like?
Focus on anything begins in our mind. What we think about comes about, so, if our desire is to change anything in our life, we first need to train our mind to think right thoughts about whatever it is. We’re creatures of habit, so in order to develop a new habit, we’ve got to set reminders in open view to remind us of whatever it is. I write myself notes and leave them in places I know I’ll see them.
Some critical habits for a believer are things like prayer, reading and studying God’s Word, the Bible, listening to the Lord in prayer and reading, not only the Bible but good books that ground our mind in truth. Books written by people like C. S. Lewis, Henry Blackaby, John Piper, Timothy Keller, Lee Strobel, Andrew Murray, Charles Stanley, Erwin Lutzer, Max Lucado, Jim Cymbala, Tony Evans, Charles Swindoll, Rick Warren, and on and on it goes.
Time alone with the Lord is indispensable. Prayer is not only speaking, but listening, as is reading the Bible. Read devotionally for the sheer pleasure of reading God’s words, but also take time to contemplate what those words mean.
For example, John 1:1a says: “In the beginning the Word already existed.” What does “In the beginning” mean? What does that tell you about Jesus? It establishes Jesus’ credentials as God, that He was and is pre-existent, which basically means, before anything else He already was.
John goes on to reveal a lot more about Jesus, but establishing a firm understanding of who Jesus is will go a long way in equipping yourself to handle the questions, doubts, fears, anxieties, hopes, and many other emotions that are raised in the course of any given day.
When my focus is on Jesus, I remember that He’s God in human flesh, so, as God, He’s pre-existent, ever-present, all-knowing, all-powerful, He will never leave or forsake me, and on and on it goes. In short, whatever I need, to be everything He desires me to be – HE IS!
When we find our joy and complete satisfaction in Jesus; when He’s our all in all, our everything, our life, everything we are or ever hope to be, then He will be our motivation to give our all in the fight to make Him known. As a result, hopefully and ideally, we’ll make a dent in the devil’s plan to kill, steal, and destroy, so, he’ll rejoice to see us leave this life.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 