Don’t Just Sit on the Wall, Break Through It
(Read Ephesians 10)
There are always people in our lives who can be intimidating. Sometimes it’s intimidating gestures, sometimes it’s actions. Sometimes, people just intimidate us by how they communicate. I have a friend of 37 years who checked all those boxes.
It was important for me to like him from the start because he was the boyfriend of my wife’s best friend. There would be a long future in front of the four of us, so I better bond with this guy. He was a quiet (until you get to know him), witty, smart man. From the time of our introduction almost four decades ago, I consider him one of my closest friends — much like my brother. He has shaped me and refined me in more ways that I even know. I am blessed to tell his story.
My friend had a volatile temper. He is a good-sized, muscular guy who could explode if the stars didn’t align properly. He told me that this was a part of his life and childhood until he graduated from college. He was always aware of Jesus Christ in his life, even as a young child, but his focus revolved around family, school, and sports. Nothing else. If someone was different from what he knew, or if someone or something disrupted his self-made pattern for his life, beware, there was trouble ahead.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5
It wasn’t until his graduation from college, that God spoke gently to my friend. While still on campus, sitting alone on a brick wall, it was God who revealed the unescapable truth to my friend. “Apart from me you can do nothing,” Jesus told my friend. He had never really given outsiders the time of day. His world was a protected and controlled world. He had no time for anything else. His behavior did not always reflect that of a believing Christian. Yet, he was proud of his accomplishments, proud of his family, and proud of the life he had made for himself already. Then, sitting on that brick wall in scenic Western Pennsylvania, the blinding truth knocked him on the head. The truth was that he didn’t do anything. God guided him, assisted him, led him, and pushed him through. My friend recognized that it wasn’t his accomplishments, it was God.
“At that moment,” my friend told me, “I saw my life in a different light.” He had come to understand God’s injections of messages and messengers in his life that he never would have seen before. My friend started opening up with other people, broadening all his relationships. He didn’t stop all his “poor behavior” (his words, not mine), but he learned to recognize it. “God was looking out for me. He still is.”
“If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
My friend didn’t believe there was any way he got through this experience alive, apart from God. He looked at the world differently, and from that point, acted differently. It took a lot of time for my friend to fully surrender his will to His will. Like most of us, it’s an ongoing and gradual process. His family and friends know he’s a Christian, but “I don’t think most people would know,” he admitted.
“I’m not as hot-tempered as I used to be,” he exclaimed. In the past, both he and Bobby Knight had the shared skill of projecting folding chairs in gymnasiums when things didn’t go right. He is fiercely loyal and loving. His wife and all three of his sons are living testimonies of his Christian walk.
I asked my friend how he fights temptation. How does he continue to walk the path God has set for him. This passage explains his answer best.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6:10-12
With the armor of God, we can stand against anything. We can take what the world throws at us. As Pastor Greg Laurie mentioned, “Jesus did not promise us smooth sailing. But He did promise a safe passage.” We need to be strong in the Lord. The strength we need is not our own strength and we shouldn’t rely on ourselves when we need help. Wearing God’s armor is a defensive strategy against the evils, temptations, and trials of this world. It gives us protection and the confidence of being protected.
In this passage of Ephesians, Paul mentions the “full armor of God,” not some of his armor. We are sent out into battle with everything we need at our disposal — fully armed. Ultimately, our real battle is not against flesh and blood, despite our failed attempts in that direction. Our battle is about spiritual warfare. It’s about moral strength and Christian courage.
My friend is now actively involved with other ministries in his life. Last year, he met a destitute single Mom through a charity Christmas program at his work. Empowered by her story, he has embraced her and has developed a close, ongoing relationship. They talk and text regularly. “She is opening her eyes to the possibility of God in her life,” my friend mentioned. Perhaps Jesus will call her to recognize His amazing work as He did for my friend. Another time in my friend’s life, he would have had nothing to do with this experience. Christ has called my friend to higher standards.
I need to look more deeply at why I used to view my friend as threatening. He is a giving, selfless, and gentle soul. He would give me anything I asked of him. Sometimes, we need to look more deeply at things. Looking beneath the surface of my friend exposes a man of faith. God shaped each one of us differently and shaped my friend to be exactly the way he is. He is true to God’s will for him. It’s important for us to love others for who they are. If we look at others through our own filter, we are neglecting God’s painted canvas. My friend wasn’t just sitting on the brick wall that was holding him back, his life in Christ demonstrates that he broke through the wall.
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Ephesians 10:16-17
To grow in Christ, to see things more clearly, to fight temptation, to be at peace, to start each day fresh, do as my friend does every night (read below).
Key Applications:
- Look back at the day. Reflect upon your struggles and failures. Pray for forgiveness.
- Thank God for giving us his strength to fight temptation and sin.
- Pray. Ask God for strength for tomorrow.
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.