By Brother Michel Lankford
The answer is Both Yes AND NO
God will guard us in His Peace, as we keep our minds on Him, (Isaiah 26:3). God will cause everything to work together for our good, in as much as we love Him and we are called according to His purpose. At the same time, we are also guaranteed that while we are in this world, we will have tribulation and we will be persecuted if we seek to live well in Christ Jesus.
Now, YHWH Almighty God will protect us, and His Followers will eventually win, but make no mistake, there is a war going on in the unseen realms. YHWH Almighty will see to it that we have some rest periods to refresh our strength during these conflicts, but the war continues. Overall, we are fighting a war on three fronts
- We will face opposition from our own sinful nature trying to drag us back into sin against God, (i.e Romans 7).
- We will face opposition from the sinful world, that loves wickedness, and hates God, (see e.g. John 3:19-21; John 16:1-4; John 15:18-19).
- We will face opposition from the devil, and his fallen angels who are trying to destroy God’s people, (John 10:9-10; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 4:27-32).
Now, do not forget that we have YHWH Almighty God on our side, (so long as we choose His Side). We have Messiah the Son of God on our side. He overcame sin, death, hell, and the grave, on our behalf through His successful obedience to YHWH’s Word while He was here. We have the Holy Spirit, Who moved upon the face of the deep during Creation; and Who raised Messiah from the dead, (Romans 8:11). We have 66% two thirds of the angelic beings, fighting on our behalf, and we have the Scriptures. If we routinely and progressively cooperate with YHWH, we will ultimately WIN the war of course. That is without question. The only difference is that I don’t want you to have false expectations that would harm your faith, and make it harder for you to overcome and have victory in your present circumstances. I want your expectations to be both realistic and biblical; so that you are not disappointed when your misplaced expectations are not realized. We will have conflicts in this life. We will have difficulties in this life. We will face tribulation while we are here. There will not be absolute tranquility and peace in this world, because we are at war. So do not expect absolute tranquility and inner peace. We will face conflict and opposition while we are in this realm.
We have been warned to expect these challenges:
As It Is Written: “And indeed, all those who want to live in a godly manner in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12 LEB cf. 1 Peter 4:12–19; James 1:2–8)
Keeping a good mindset and a good attitude while we are being confronted by these challenges is imperative to our success. That’s why our expectations need to be in the right place from the outset.
We will have a measure of peace, but not complete peace the side of glory, (John 16:33). We will have tribulation here, but we can rejoice in the fact that Messiah has overcome the world.
I do hope that helps you. Thank you so much for your kind attention.
Brother Michel Lankford