THE GLORIFIED STATE Devotion 22 of 25 THE LANGUAGE OF FAITH The Spirit witnessed to us, "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen" (Rom 16:20). This bruising would have the same characteristics of our Lord's bruising of the wicked one. Once bruised, the Lord was troubled no more by the devil. So it will be with the saints. When Satan is bruised under their feet, they will have done with him once and for all. The word "shortly" does not mean this was going to happen within the lifetime of the brethren in Rome. Rather, it is the language of faith. It is speaking of things that "are not as though they were," or declaring the "end from the beginning" (Rom 4:17; Isa 46:10). – Tomorrow:
"Behold, I am coming quickly!" (Verse 6a)
Here is the manner of the Kingdom "quickly." The word means suddenly and without delay. It is something that cannot be averted, or caused to happen before or after the appointed time. Jesus earlier told the churches, "Behold, I come quickly" (3:11). Later in this chapter He will say it again, "And, behold I come quickly, and My reward is with Me" (22:12). His last words to the church are, "Surely I come quickly" (22:20). The surety of His return is thus announced.
It is as though the Lord is saying, Do not settle down in this world I am coming quickly! Do not allow your thoughts to fasten on the transitory I am coming quickly. Look toward heaven, lifting up your eyes I am coming quickly. How we need these blessed words!
From this perspective, the coming of the Lord is set forth as about to occur. "For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Heb 10:37). Not being burdened with the incidentals of life, the Lord leaps ahead to the next significant event, saying it will take place in a "little while."
By using the phrase "shortly come to pass," the Spirit is teaching us to live with the promised future in mind. We are not to become burdened down with the abrasiveness of life in the flesh. This is precisely the point being made in reference to our afflictions. "For our light and MOMENTARY troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Cor 4:17, NIV). From the standpoint of time, our afflictions are neither light nor momentary. However, from the viewpoint of faith, they are praise the Lord!
Because "the just shall live by faith" (Heb 10:38), the Spirit appeals to our faith, not our intellect. As you know, faith has to do primarily with the heart, the very citadel of our person. As it is written, "shall not doubt in his HEART, but shall believe . . . slow of heart to HEART e . . . Let not your HEART be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me . . . If thou believest with all thine HEART . . . believe in thine HEART . . . For with the HEART man believeth . . . a true HEART in full assurance of faith" (Mk 11:23; Lk 24:25; John 14:1; Acts 8:37; Rom 10:10; Heb 10:22).
Hope is not an intellectual thing, bounded by human logic. It is something that thrives upon Divine commitment, spanning time and looking at the end of all things. That is why the Spirit speaks as He does – He is speaking to faith. What consolation would be brought to suffering saints by saying, "these things will come to pass in one hundred years . . . five hundred years . . . a thousand years?"
Let your faith take hold on the message as it stands. Your battle will not be long! What you are yearning for will be here. Once, when referring to the seventy year long Babylonian captivity, the Lord said, "For a SMALL MOMENT have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee FOR A MOMENT; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer" (Isa 54:7-8). From the standpoint of time, that forsaking certainly did not seem like a "moment." The judgment poured out upon them did not appear as "a little wrath," or "for a moment." The expert in language and the meaning of original words could certainly not have brought much comfort to believers by an etymological analysis of the Divine utterance.
Nor, indeed, can those who traffic on the roads of language bring delight to our hearts by telling us what they imagine "shortly" means. So far as faith is concerned, the next meaningful thing on the Divine agenda is "the end." Be strong in hope and fight the good fight of faith. It will soon be over! The Lord "will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth" (Rom 9:28). Your faith can take hold of that, and your hope can look forward to it.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in Jesus' name, grant me grace to see my trials as momentary, chastening but a small moment, and the span between now and the coming of the Lord as short.