"Folks, it's not a good idea to fight with God, because God always wins." Rich Mullins

Are you feeling angry with God, or perhaps a bit rebellious? Do you feel that you are always fighting against God, and He's always trying to take away the things that you want? And perhaps you are in this resigned state where you say to Him, "Fine God, take what you want, I can't stop you anyway, You are sovereign, You are all-powerful, You will do whatever You want." But deep in your heart you hold a deep resentment against Him, a discontentment, and you never really let go of the things you want.

But you know what, aren't you glad the God always wins? Because if God ever let us win, or worse still let Satan win, then we are in deep trouble. Satan won a major battle in Eden when he convinced Eve to eat the fruit. What would have happened if God had decided to let Satan win the entire war? If God had decided not to send His beloved Son to die for us? What would have happened if God had let man win, and do his own thing? Man would just go further and further away from God (like almost all men in the Old Testament did)? But when God sent His Son to die on the Cross to triumph over Satan and sin and draw men back to Himself He won the war once and for all. Thank God He did!

Now we are willing to believe in this truth. We are willing to believe in the truth of our salvation, and better still, rejoice in His victory. We sing it, we shout it- "Jesus, we celebrate Your victory! Jesus, we revel in Your love!" But yet when it comes to the other things of our lives, the things that we want, we blatantly refuse to let God win. We fight and fight with Him and even when He wins, we sulk and turn our face away. We think that our victory would be better.

Is God's character doubtable? Can His victory on the Cross be so wonderful, so powerful, so worthy of praise, and yet His victory in other areas of our lives the exact opposite- unwanted, detestable? It took faith for us to believe in the power of the Cross; it will also take faith to believe that letting Him win in our lives is the best thing for us. And it really is. When we believed in the Cross we first believed that we are wretched sinners in need of help. And when we believe in God's victory in our lives we also first need to believe that God's way is always the best way, and we are always in need of His help.

I will not kid you, I did not believe myself. I was angry, upset with God. And for what it was worth I tried to prove Him wrong, to try and find the best way on my own terms, without surrendering fully to Him. What He took away, I let go of unwillingly, sullenly, still in my heart clinging on to my toys and wishing that He would give them back. But there came a point where I had enough. I decided to give God a try, to give Him a chance to prove that His way was the best way, that His victory was what I really wanted. And impossible as it seemed, He did. And now I know that I've seen enough on my own, and I want to come back to Him and let Him win. Because in His victory over me I will find more than I ever had before, I will have everything I have ever really wanted, and all I have ever needed.

Will you give God a try?

"Surrender don't come natural to me
I'd rather fight You for something I don't really want
Than to take what You give that I need
And I've beat my head against so many walls
And I'm falling down, I'm falling on my knees." - Rich Mullins, Hold Me Jesus