“But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Isaiah 54:17 NLT)

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus makes a fascinating statement that some have misunderstood. Speaking of believers, He says, “They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed” (Mark 16:18 NLT). Some Christians have taken the Lord’s words literally and incorporated snake-handling into their services. But that’s not trusting the Lord; that’s testing the Lord, something believers aren’t supposed to do (see Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:7).

Here’s what Jesus’ words in Mark 16 do mean: If you’re a Christian, then you’re indestructible until God is done with you. There is a day appointed for your death. And you have no say in when that day will come. Until that day, however, you can approach life with boldness and confidence. (That’s not to say that you should be reckless, however—see Jesus’ words in Matthew 4:7 again.)

That’s certainly what God’s Word encourages you to do. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (NLT).

The psalmist wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1 NLT).

And the apostle Paul wrote, “But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT).

He wrote from experience. Paul survived a shipwreck and found himself on an island. While warming himself by a fire in this environment, he was bitten by a venomous snake. Paul calmly shook off the snake into the fire. The people who witnessed the incident expected Paul to die from the bite. But he didn’t because his time wasn’t up.

Hebrews 9:27 says, “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment” (NLT). Paul had not yet reached his destination. He wasn’t about to let a snakebite keep him from the Lord’s work.

Likewise, there’s no need for you to worry on your Christian journey. That gives you the freedom to travel light, emotionally speaking. As Isaiah 54:17 says, “But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken” (NLT).

God will keep you and protect you in this world until He welcomes you into the next. So, be bold. Be courageous. As long as God has use for you, you’re indestructible.

Reflection question: What would spiritual boldness and courage look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details.

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

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“They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.” (Acts 14:21–22 NIV)

I believe that when we get to Heaven, we’ll look back at our time on earth from a different perspective. I believe we’ll realize that the things we viewed as good weren’t nearly as good as we thought they were. I also believe we’ll realize that some things we thought were bad were, in fact, beneficial.

For example, our culture has conditioned us to think of prosperity and success as good things. And for some people, they can be, if they’re used for God’s glory. But quite honestly, for others, financial well-being can be a great distraction, something that causes them to lose sight of God. Material possessions can weigh us down, spiritually speaking, when God wants us to travel light.

In addition, we think of sickness or loss or failure as things that are always bad. And they can be bad. Very bad. But they also can be good, because they cause us to cling to God and to lean on Him like we never would have if things had been easier. So, from Heaven’s perspective, a so-called bad thing can be a good thing.

When his friend Lazarus was sick, Jesus delayed going to see him in Bethany. John 11:5–7 says, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea’” (NIV).

Instead of running to help Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, as they hoped He would, Jesus delayed His arrival by two days. Why? He wanted Lazarus’ sickness to run its course. He didn’t simply want to heal His friend. He wanted to bring greater glory to His name. Sickness and death were the means to bring about that greater glory. The Lord doesn’t look at trials and suffering as we do. The question is, whose perspective will we trust?

Here’s a hint: “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8–9 NLT).

I believe that God will reveal the whys of our suffering in time. He will help us see the big picture, how our trials ultimately led to a greater good. But until that day, we need to remember these words from Acts 14:21–22: “They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said” (NIV).

No matter how many hardships we must endure, the result—eternity in the kingdom of God—is more than worth it.

Reflection question: How can you keep a godly perspective on the “good” and “bad” things that happen to you? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

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“Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers.” (Philemon 1:23–24 NLT)

It’s been said that everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. For a select few people, however, those fifteen minutes of fame stretched into centuries and millennia. Such is the case with the people mentioned in one of the apostle Paul’s epistles. Imagine what an honor that would be! For example, in his letter to Philemon, the apostle wrote, “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers” (Philemon 1:23–24 NLT).

I imagine it must have been tempting to bring up those name-checks in casual conversation: “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Aristarchus. You may have heard of me from one of Paul’s epistles.”

One of the people Paul mentioned was Demas, whose name appeared not only in one epistle, but two. In Philemon, Demas is identified as a coworker of Paul. The bad news is that his second mention involved his apostasy. Something had happened to Demas in the time between Paul’s letter to Philemon and his second letter to Timothy, because we read, “Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10 NLT). In other words, “Hey, remember Demas? Yeah, well, he’s not with me anymore.” The reason? Demas loved “the things of this life.”

Demas serves as a prime example of why the apostle John warned, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (1 John 2:15–17 NLT).

There is nothing wrong with being blessed by God with things like a nice home or a good career. In fact, the Bible tells us that God “richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17 NLT). But if those things have become the most important to you, more important than God Himself, then that is a problem, my friend.

We must recognize the things of this life for the temporary blessings they are. We must be prepared to step away from them if the Lord instructs us to. Traveling light in this world means being prepared to sacrifice anything that gets in the way of our relationship with the Lord.

The Christian walk is challenging enough on its own. The last thing we need is to stumble over misplaced priorities.

Reflection question: How can you keep a godly perspective on the things of this life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details.

—

The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.