Needing a lift?

Needing a lift? I was recently. It had been a long day and, if memory serves me correctly, it was only 9 a.m. So God led my devotional reading to a passage in 1 Corinthians 15. Today, I came back to that passage--re-thinking some of the implications of what it said. Here are the verses that caught my attention:

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:25-26 NIV

Now, those of us who believe the story of Jesus to be real, believe that Jesus did that very thing 2,000 years ago--He defeated death by His resurrection. The significance of this passage in light of that truth is two-fold:

1. Every enemy that puts itself up against Jesus has been defeated. Those victories will be brought to their final conclusion at His return but these enemies have already been put "under His feet." There is nothing grim or dark or evil or discouraging that you may face that God has not given Jesus authority over.

2. If there is something in your life that is challenging you, it's because God knew you could handle it (with His help). Why? Because everything is in submission to Him. If He didn't believe you could handle it or He didn't want you to face it...you wouldn't.

How cool is that?