Battles are a blessing

SUN 3/11 MEDITATION

God's Word from Psalms

" You have given me relief when I was in distress."  Psalm 4:1

Martin Luther's Meditation

"For God first adorns & equips. He first justifies & makes alive, & then He quickly subjects to battle, so that strength may increase, which otherwise would quickly be consumed by rust & inactivity." *

My Meditation

It's naive for the mature Christian--& I count myself in that group, if for no other reason I'm 65-years-old--to think that as he & she grows older, life as a Christian will get easier. Experience & God's Word belie this thought, tempting as it might be. It's actually a blessing for God to subject us to "battle," i.e., assaults against our faith. It is in the battling that we avoid "rust & inactivity," as Luther puts it. My interpretation is that the battles that the Lord allows into our lives can have the effect of sharpening our relationship with our Savior, as we turn ever more to Him in Word & prayer.

And the message to you younger Christians is that trials & temptations are not a curse from the Lord. They can be a blessing for you, too.

* SOURCE:  "Prepare Your Soul for Trial," Martin Luther Psalm by Psalm, CPH 2017.