Too Late to Fail

Today is a trying day, and it has only just begun. Even my awakening dream was troubled, as I was being arrested for a vacuum cleaner parking infraction. Some days you wonder if there was a global meeting to pick a whipping boy for the day…and your name came up. Though these burdens are frustrating and heavy, there is hope. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus declared that all authority in heaven and earth belong to Him. His triumphal obedience at the cross received validation when He threw off death to come out of the tomb. Verses 19-20 then tell us to use that secured authority to take on the whole world. On days when you do well to get the escaped dog back in the house or the kids to stop arguing, you might think the world should fend for itself for a minute. Yet, you have the attention of a little patch of the world, whether it is your living room, your schoolroom, or your office suite. In that little space, you have the ability to wield the authority that Jesus made available to you.
As I sat in church service last Sunday listening to the pastor speak on the power of God to overcome, it occurred to me why the Word of God cannot fail. It’s too late, He already defeated the enemy. Death’s entry into the world through Adam’s sin broke the communion of eternal perfection upon the earth. Sin brought its wage: death. Yet, when the obedient Son came out of the tomb, He did so by decimating the very power that wreaked such havoc on creation. The last enemy of God to be destroyed (2 Corinthians 15:26) has been stripped of the insulating power that he used to hold us in subjection. Therefore, when we stand in Jesus’ authority, demonstrating the same obedience that He did, we must succeed, because it is too late for failure.
Things that come against you will first go for your heart, because a disheartened soldier is easily squashed. Reinforce your heart, then, by redirecting your attention on the truth of Jesus’ conquered foe. God didn’t overcome failure to see you fall into it. Get in your dressing room and put on his armor (Ephesians 6). On days like today, the best option may be to simply praise the Lord for His victory. You may not feel like it. But if you determine to sing praise, offer thanks, and celebrate His name until your spirit-man is renewed, eventually a lifting will occur.