Wimp

Even to the death fight for truth, & the Lord your God will battle for you – Sirach 4:28

“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. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:11-13, NIV

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? – Romans 8:31

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I believe the perception among many individuals who are atheist, agnostic or simply “on the fence” about this “God” stuff is that Christians are wimps. They are perceived as if they aren’t strong enough to carry on in life without help from our God.

I know because I was there.

I’ve never been an atheist or agnostic but I have perceived those of us that look to God for guidance as weak. I don’t know why other than I suppose I always thought if you needed help from someone (or Someone) it implied that you couldn’t do it on your own. It’s a fault of mine. One that I hope I have effectively eradicated from my life.

I cannot make it through my life without God. He gives me the sort of joy that resonates through my body like a shot of adrenaline. Even though I can have a bad day or something happens that is decidedly not in God’s plan for me, I know that he is there when I need to talk to him and ask for wisdom, compassion, bravery or any other emotion required to slog through my day.

You see, the definition of a wimp is: “A weak and cowardly or unadventurous person”.

I think of this to illustrate the definition:

While my perceptions of being a completely dedicated Christian may have been skewed, the imagery of myself is now this:

Granted, if I saw one of these long, red-haired demons sprinting towards me I might just poop my pants but not before fumbling for the Sword of the Spirit first. While I continue to fail miserably in my defense of my own spirituality I am content in knowing that I will fight with complete and total abandon to uphold my beliefs.

The fact that I view myself now as the white, long-haired guy (or at least a work in progress) in the second picture and a member of God’s army of Christians who are ready to defend myself rather than go on my own path is reason enough for me to solidify my beliefs by means of going to church, reading His word and just denying the world and its empty promises.

God is my Leader. He is the one I will deny myself for and defend at all costs. He kicked the wimp right out of me.

What I have begun to find, is a prophecy of sorts I suppose. My mother had a moment when reading Psalms one morning during her daily prayer years ago.  She read Psalm 18, verses 30-40 and felt that God was designating these verses to me:

As for God, his way is perfect:  The Lord’s word is flawless;  he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord?  And who is the Rock except our God?  It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me;  your help has made me great.  You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.  I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.  You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me.  You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.

I am still a wimp but far from where I was a year ago. Hopefully, by the time I get to meet our Lord, I’ll have lived up to the expectations outlined for me in the passage dedicated to me by Him through my mother.

I would rather be called a wimp by non-believers than deny God. While being perceived as a wimp by those who choose to deny God may be in the cards for me now as I continue to update this blog, I choose to be strong through Him because I know now it is the only way to make it through this life.

There ain’t nothing wimpy about that.