Dwelling in the Blessing
Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare. The snare is broken, and we have escaped. — Psalms 124:7
What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? — Romans 8:31
Author
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Summary: The Christian life should not be reduced to mere survival or to solving one crisis after another. Christ calls us to live abundantly, and faith is the channel through which God fulfills His good purposes. Therefore, we use faith proactively: to grow in maturity and joy, prevent crises, and remain in peace, confidence, and security under God’s protection. This stability is strengthened by wisdom, discernment, and the Word. However, living with confidence does not mean remaining passive: when the enemy threatens what God has granted us, we must defend our inheritance. The principles of the Word are our foundation in times of peace and our sword and shield during trials.
The Christian life does not have to be lived on the defensive, continually dealing with one crisis after another. The believer has been called to dwell confidently in God’s blessing and prosperity. Christ said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it abundantly.” He did not say, “I have come that they may survive,” but rather, “that they may have life abundantly.” And faith is the channel, the instrument, the conduit through which God can accomplish and carry out the good purposes He has for our lives.
Faith is not only for resolving crises. It is not merely for getting out of trouble and correcting deficiencies! Above all, faith is for living life proactively, for sustaining a constructive and powerful spiritual journey. It serves to hinder and prevent crises, to keep the enemy in checkmate, at bay, subject to God’s good purposes. Faith enables our lives to prosper and be blessed.
I hope you understand, beloved brother or sister, the difference between always living on the defensive, continually begging God to get you out of the trouble into which the devil—or your own mistakes and weakness—has gotten you, and living a stable and confident life, protected by solid walls of wisdom and spiritual discernment, nourished and enlightened by the Word of God, moving securely toward ever-higher levels of maturity and joy in the Lord.
It reminds me of the psalmist’s words in Psalm 125: “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.” Or the beautiful words of Moses’ blessing upon the tribe of Benjamin in Deuteronomy 33:12: “The beloved of the LORD shall dwell securely by Him; He shall cover him all day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders.” The normal posture of a healthy and mature believer is one of peace and security, of confidence in the protection and covering of Almighty God.
Now, when the Enemy rises against us and seeks to snatch away what God has granted us, the son or daughter of God must know how to defend themselves effectively and how to preserve their inheritance. We must be like King David, who, when he was a shepherd, always knew how to defend his sheep from the lion or the bear. In his first conversation with Saul, he told the king: “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it rose against me, I caught it by its jaw, struck it, and killed it” (1 Samuel 17:34 and 35). When the devil rises against us, seeking to harm those whom God has entrusted to us, we must be prepared to snatch them away from him and attack him effectively!
Let us learn to live according to the sure principles of the Word of God. They will be the foundation for a life of peace and prosperity. And when times of trial come, those same principles will be a sword and a shield in our hands. They will be more than sufficient to give us victory over any giant that seeks to rise against us.