BE PREPARED TO EARN YOUR HARD STRIPES
Jesus said that all things are possible for those who believe, but he didn’t say it would be easy.
We Christians were blessed beyond measure when we were born again by God the Father’s amazing grace. Before we were saved by His grace (unmerited favor) the Bible says were appeared like filthy rags to Him. But He loved us so much that with His Infinite Wisdom, He conceived the Plan of Salvation by which man’s wretched state could be cleaned up, and once again he could stand up before God with his head held high.
Now, the unbeliever might say, “How in the world could God do that?” Well, obviously, they don’t know who God is—the great I AM who encompasses any and everything you could ever think of with your finite mind.
I believe that one of God’s biggest challenges (not that anything is a real challenge to Him since He is sovereign and Almighty God) was to determine a way to communicate with mankind and how to make things simple and understandable to humans who are finite beings. Remember what Isaiah 55: 8 & 9 says. God’s thoughts and ways are not only different than ours, but they are much higher as high as the heavens are from the earth. After all we are flesh and He is spirit. We are minuscule creations of His, specs in the universe (or universes) that He has created, and He is spirit, sovereign, almighty, who can see all, do all, has infinite wisdom, and has many other lofty characteristics.
At any rate, he conceived a plan of salvation for man by which man’s sinful slate would be wiped clean by the shedding of blood by a sinless lamb, his only begotten and unique son, and the second person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ. His uniqueness lies in the fact that as the Word he always existed with the Father in eternity [John 1:1) but later, to accomplish the Father’s Plan of Salvation, he manifested himself in the flesh in the person of Jesus.
So, the second person of the Godhead was fully human and fully divine; he had a divine nature and a human nature. God in His Infinite Wisdom probably said something that we all say to ourselves at some point in time which is, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” God could not entrust anyone else to perform the task of implementing His Plan of Salvation but his second person. Also, his word (Christ in the body of Jesus) was the only one who was considered a sinless lamb (who completely fulfilled the Law and lived on this earth without sinning). And he was able to do this because he always communicated with the Father and never lost sight of his mission. And because of his submission to the Father. His obedience, and suffering, the Father made Jesus higher than any other name. He was made perfect through his suffering, and he pleased the Father in thought, purpose, and action.
This brings me to the topic of this post. We were bought for a price, meaning that Jesus cleaned us up by taking our sins upon himself while he hung on that cross. As God the Father’s supreme sacrifice, Jesus showed us God’s mercy and grace (unmerited favor) and that the Father would sacrifice his son so that we could not only be forgiven but escape perdition (destruction and going to hell and experiencing the second death the lake of fire) and be able to have everlasting life.
This is not to mention what we get from being saved, the benefits which I will address at another time because I do not want to get off point. Although we were saved by grace (which was unmerited) through faith, there are things that God expects from us for us to enjoy the benefits of being in the family of God (sons and daughters of God).
In addition to you giving a statement of faith or saying the sinner’s prayer (acknowledging your sins, repenting, sincerely asking Jesus to be Lord of your life, and acknowledging that God raised him from the dead) God wants you to:
- Have faith because it is impossible to please God without it -Hebrews 11:1, 11:6
- Trust him and not place your confidence in man-Psalm 118:8
- Lean not on your own understanding, but let God light you path-Prov. 3:5.6
- If you lack wisdom, go to God and He will give it to you. James 1:5
- Do not be double-minded. God hates that and you will not receive anything from God if you are. James 1:6-8
- Do not be prideful because that implies that you can do things on your own and that you don’t need Him.
- Exercise thankfulness and walk in humility.
- Have the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord with awe. Deut. 10:12,13 and Deut. 4
- Know the power of His word which is God-breathed and good for instruction, discipline, and correction so that the man of God can become mature and complete and be able to accomplish God’s will according to His purpose. 2 Timothy 3:16,17.
- Pray to God lifting Him up, and pray for others and petitions for yourself.
- Keep your eyes on Jesus. He said, “Peace be Still” to stormy seas, and he can do the same in your life. He is the one who carries you when you go through troubled times in your life (ie. Poem Footprints in the Sand.)
- Know God’s will which is His word (To be Saved, Sanctified, Spirit-Filled, Submissive, Suffer for Christ Sake, and Say Thanks)
It is the Suffer for Christ’s sake part of God’s will that ties into your earning your stripes [which is how rank is defined in the armed forces]. For non-commissioned officers, their status or rank is determined by strips on their uniforms. The more the strips, the higher the rank. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ went through more than any of us could go through or would go through. He was tortured, beat, whipped, scorned, spat on, had thorns put on his head, had a spear thrust into his side, took the sins of the world-pat, present, and future thrust upon him and was crucified. He also was separated from his Father in heaven for the first time because the Father cannot be associated with sin. And he did this all for you and me. So, it stands to reason that there must be something that will really bond us to Christ. And that something is suffering. If we are to use Jesus as our standard-bearer, role model, and level, we should be striving to be like him. After all, he is the one who totally fulfilled the Law (although he encountered several attempted distractions) And although we will never attain the stature of Christ, we will become more Christ-like as we grow in grace and become better developed, and mature in things of the Lord. I find it interesting that the word says in Isaiah 53 that by his stripes we are healed and (by the Holy Spirit), I am telling you that you have to go through similar things (earning your stripes) to be bonded to him so that you can receive that healing that he provides us.
So, what does earning your stripes entail?
I shall tell you what God through His Holy Spirit told me to share with you. What you should expect is to battle. This life is doable and can be good, but it often involves battle. Looking at history in the Bible, there were many obstacles that Moses and the Israelites faced after God freed them from bondage and delivered them from Egypt. And Joshua had to fight many battles before he could claim the Promise Land. And after Israel was divided into two nations after its third king who was King Solomon, they were in many battles and events before they became one nation in 1948. These are some examples where God makes promises to his people, but it often requires them to be assertive and proactive mixed with their faith and trust in Him to bring these promises to fruition (come to pass)
Prompted by the Holy Spirit I will recommend some prerequisites before you go to battle. These reflect some important things, but in no way is this list all-inclusive.
- See things in the right perspective. Get your pecking order straight. Realize and acknowledge that God (the Godhead) is our creator and we are His creations meant to please him and accomplish His will according to His purpose.
- Give God the Praise and all the Glory. Praise Him for all that He is.
- When you pray, ask Him to reveal to you a better understanding of His word.
- Ask God what is He calling you to do.
- Tell Him when you feel it in your spirit, you’ll respond.
- When you feel a burning passion in you, check if its in God’s will, that’s it. It will be a passion you can’t shut off, Mine is writing.
- When you have determined what that is have a vision of where your passion can take you in service for the Lord.
- Then make yourself a plan
- Then make a chart with your vision, mission, objectives, and goals with milestone dates.
The two things that are the hardest to do are knowing what you want to do that concurs with God’s calling on your life and getting a vision and make a plan with goals, objectives, and a mission statement on how to have that vision materialize. There an old saying, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
The next suggestions require discipline and focus while you are in the midst of the battle will give you spiritual strength and mental stability.
Know who you are in Christ. You are many things, but know these things:
- You are an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony. Rev. 12:11
- Greater is He (Christ) that is in you than he (Satan) that is in the world- 1 John 4:4
- You can do anything through Christ who strengthens you. Phil 4:13
- You are a son of God.
- You were wonderfully and fearfully made,
- God made you a possibility thinker because you were made in His image.
- Jesus said he’d be with you, even unto the end of the age.
- Be Vigilant. The devil is like a roaring lion, seeking to devour anyone he can.
- Realize you will be in spiritual warfare battling with principalities and entities that are in the spiritual world, so you must fight them with spiritual weapons that God gives you like the word of God, the name of Jesus, praying in the Spirit, and putting on the Armor of God. Ephesians 6
- Learn from your life experiences, and keep mental notes so you make better decisions and choices in the future by skillful and Godly wisdom.
- Show your trust in God by thanking him in advance for what he is going to do in your life.
- Get ready to be battle-tested like you will in James 1;2-4 where you welcome tests and temptations so you can prove your faith. Here God will strengthen your steadfastness, endurance, and patience, and if you allow Him full play, he will help you become spiritually mature and complete. You can gain skillful and Godly wisdom from life’s experiences [which are like mini seminars] if you pay attention. And you will be able to accomplish His will according to his purpose and not return to Him void as it is written in Isaiah 55:11.
- Be aware that as you grow in grace and get closer to the Lord, your imperfections will become more noticeable and clearer because God is light. You must have the courage to look in the mirror and face them, and ask God to help you address (correct and improve) them.
- Also, know that the closer you get to God, the more the devil will come after you, because he enjoys bringing down saints in high places.
- Know that Jesus wants to carry your burdens. [Mat. 11:28-30, Ps. 55:22]
- Know that the sign of a warrior is, after being knocked down, he gets back up, dust yourself off, and keep on moving forward.
- Know that if you have God’s favor, God will fight your battles-2 Chr. 20:15 and no weapon against you will prosper. [Isaiah 54:17]. And if you first submit to Him, you then can rebuke the devil and he will flee from you. [James 4:7]
CONCLUSION
God has made us many promises and wants us to have a good life on earth before we go to heaven. But there is a price that must be paid in order for us to have that good life in return for the sacrifices Jesus went through for us. We must prepare to battle evil forces in the spiritual world as he did, and the result of that battle will bond us closer with Christ. And looking at it like this, it’s all worth it.
Did you enjoy this post, or did it make you anxious?
Feel free to comment.