Breaking the heaviness

by | Jun 30, 2019 | Christianity Today | 16 comments

The constant barrage of terrifying headlines and mainstreaming of perversion vexes the child of God.  These verses from Second Peter have never been more relevant than now: “and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment…” 2 Peter 2:7-9

Angry debates, rioting, filth paraded in the streets, and constant bad news can drain the sanity from our souls.

Not only this, but we are forced to keep all our enormous frustrations inside of us. While stupidity and wickedness get a megaphone—wisdom and righteousness get duct tape over their mouths.

These are the times that rob inner peace—that bring intense restlessness—that drain all the color and enjoyment from our life.

These are the times Jesus warned us of—and that He gave us direction for.

First He said, “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls.” – Luke 21:17-19

Talk about mindless hate! Both the liberals and the feminists have incredible bias for Islam and sheer hatred for Christ and Christianity. It is mind-bending.  It makes zero sense.  Yet that is exactly the kind of irrational hatred our Lord predicted. It is weariness to believers who share their faith openly.

Then Jesus said, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.” (Luke 21:34)

The dumbest thing anyone ever said to me was, “When you come to Jesus, your problems are over.”  I never had problems until I met Jesus!  I kept wondering, “Why am I being attacked?  Why am I being shot at from all directions?  Why do I meet stiff resistance every time I try to do something meaningful for Jesus?”

Does this sound familiar? You walk through life, minding your own business and wham!  A co-worker rages at you for no reason. Money evaporates.  Your health fails.  Loved ones abandon God.  Someone makes an irrational defense for wickedness. A confluence of demonic attacks falls on you.  Life has never felt so cruel and unfair.

At the apex of one of these attacks, something happened to me.  A terrifying thought became a glorious thought, “SOMEBODY IS MAD AT JESUS, AND THEY ARE TAKING IT OUT ON ME!”  Suddenly, I felt qualified to fight back. And I felt profoundly honored.

Think about it!  A soldier does not go to war because he has a personal grudge against the enemy.  He didn’t declare war—his nation did.  He is not responsible for the battle plan—the military is.  He is not paying his own way to the war—his government is.

Let’s take a look at the things that are not the soldier’s responsibility:  The training he needs; the weapons he uses; the food and shelter he requires; the assignments he receives—these, and a host of other things, are not his responsibility.

“What soldier ever serves at his own expense?” (1 Cor. 9:7) “…No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” (2 Tim. 2:4)

The soldier does not create the organized army.  He does not carry the weight of how the war will be won. If he sits in the foxhole feeling alone and unfairly attacked, it is because he has forgotten who he is and why he is being attacked.  He has taken the battle into his own hands!

But when he remembers that he was recruited—when he recalls that he is not alone, but part of a victorious army, and all he is called to do is obey orders, it changes everything!

When we take the attack personally, we lose hope.  But, when we say, “The battle is not mine, it’s God’s,” we cannot be defeated.  Let’s stay out of things that do not concern us.  Let’s keep our conflict in the hands of God.  We must discern when we are operating in our own strength and by our own wits.

Remembering your attacks are not personal is plainly seen in these verses where Jesus speaks about conditions in the last days:  Luke 21:12 “But before all this occurs, there will be a time of special persecution, and you will be dragged into synagogues and prisons and before kings and governors for My name’s sake. 13 But as a result, the Messiah will be widely known and honored.  14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

newspaper headlines

When they were arrested, it felt personal. When they were dragged to court, it felt personal.  But when they were asked to speak, it became God’s battle and Christ was glorified!  He gave them the words and the courage to speak.  He even told them not to prepare words beforehand.  That means that we are not to devise ways of fighting back.  It means we will get what we need, when we need it.

Paul experienced the same thing: Philippians 1:12 “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel…”

Right now we have a presidential election that embodies everything that is wrong with our nation.  It is a hair-pulling, maddening, terrifying, and draining moment for believers. We must put the battle back in God’s hands and let Him replenish our peace and our joy.

Never forget! We have the best message humanity has ever heard, and the best Book ever written.   We have the best Captain in the universe!  We have the all-powerful Holy Spirit, Who has been sent to aid us.   We have access to power, strategy, and wisdom.  All of this, and more, will direct our fighting.

Is someone mad at Jesus, and are they taking it out on you?  What an honor!  What an opportunity!  Whenever Satan comes at you, let Jesus come at him!

The first time an angel stares at you in heaven with wonder and admiration for your service to Christ, you will know why your trials were worth it all.  The first time you hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” you won’t remember the suffering, the trials, or the battles.

No wonder Paul said, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”  -Romans 8:18

Hallelujah!  –

16 Comments

  1. btherese

    I need prayers of the saints! I’m exposing evil on social media. People message me every day with their stories about being controlled by the evil ones in government, Hollywood and more.
    I don’t know how to help but pray for them and be a sounding board.
    Trump is trying to expose and take down the ones responsible.

  2. Margo Hayes

    Thank you for this! I really needed this tonight!

  3. Anne Sullivan

    Thanks Mario. The warfare has been intense and has felt very personal. This really helped.

  4. Ann

    Thank you for the powerful reminder…..the battle is the Lord’s! Here I am, Lord…..use me in the battle!

  5. Lindy

    Thanks brother Murillo, you have such a kind heart that desires to encourage Gods’ people and lift them up out of despondency.
    Yes, we have to learn when to pull back and “give the battle back to God,” while we replenish our joy and peace.
    “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
    “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You.”
    I also recommend saints to read Psalm 37, it has so much good in it for us in these times!
    “Let not your heart envy sinners, but be in fear of the Lord all day long.”
    “Do not fret yourself because of the wicked person who brings wicked devices to pass.”
    “Yet a little while and the wicked will be no more.” (Its late here in NZ, can’t think of many others.)
    And of course, we know that many of the wicked will be saved!
    We who were wicked are saved and we can believe for other wicked people to be saved too.

  6. wiser truth

    Mario, Truth the enemy is after Jesus in us/ this truth has broken the sound barrier!!!

  7. Evang Roger Culwell

    With all our Physiological, Philosophical, Analytic, and social, and Master’s degree’s, we will never know as much as the one we encounter, when down on our knee’s his eyes are fire and his hair like wool, and he is as bright as the sun, and it dosen’t matter what we think, but what he say’s when it’s all done, for he is our master and the Holy Spirit is our guide, and if we want to see Jesus we better choose his side. RDC Just because we don’t see and understand don’t mean it’s not the Lord, and I guess I will leave with that. Be Blessed

    • Evang Roger Culwell

      Let me say this if any one try’s to tell you just use a certain type of music to get in his presence, when here is how God said enter his presence, you best beware, Psalm 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. [ he inhabits the praise of his people not the music of his people, and the word tells us our weapons, if it’s not word don’t listen, I don’t care who it is, I am telling these people are deep with in and changing the church, no ware does it say he inhabits the MUSIC of his people, but the PRAISE of his people] God has order on how to come before him, ] :{thanksgiving gets you in the gates, praise get’s you into the enter court, and worship takes you into the Holy of Holies, we perish from lack of knowledge, I am telling you there is a counterfit that has all ready taken over most of the churches, controling spirits, who tell you who you can like and who you can’t, who you can talk to and who you can’t, just beaware and they want nothing to do with the real fire, some are sent on a mission right now to mix in with the ones with the real fire, and put the fire out, there is a reason I am being attacked the way I am, we must follow what is written.} Be Blessed

  8. Carolina

    Mario said, “Not only this, but we are forced to keep all our enormous frustrations inside of us. While stupidity and wickedness get a megaphone—wisdom and righteousness get duct tape over their mouths.”
    >>> ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS explanation of what many of us are experiencing right now. And I would add, these frustrations we carry are justified in light of how ridiculous the plans and ideas are of those holding the megaphone that’s obviously amped up & ramped up on loud and obnoxious.
    It reminds me of Jesus’s words about prayer in Matthew 7:7,8, “When you pray, don’t ramble like the heathens who think they’ll be heard if they talk a lot. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
    Though in this context Jesus is speaking about prayer examples, the explanation still fits the crime of verbosity being perpetrated right now.

  9. Barbara Booker

    My prayer is the God himself will help you to know what this post means and I’m sure not only to me but the countless others who are nearly overcome with the Spirit of heaviness for the exact reasons you have spoken into. May God bless you and everything you do. I am so grateful to God for this because I have been praying asking Jesus please to give me his peace. I tried to figure out how I could share this on Facebook anyway I just wanted to say thank you thank you so very very much. I am legally blind so have to use voice recorder and magnifying glass in order to text and read text. If they are any glaring errors , please excuse. God bless you

    On Mon, Jul 1, 2019, 2:06 AM Mario Murillo Ministries wrote:

    > mariomurilloministries posted: “The constant barrage of terrifying > headlines and mainstreaming of perversion vexes the child of God. These > verses from Second Peter have never been more relevant than now: “and > delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the > wicke” >

    • Ann

      AMEN, Barbara Booker!!!

  10. Deb Miller

    You read my mind every day.

    • Noel

      Thank you for the heavenly perspective; the scriptural perspective. “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” -John 15:19
      Jesus in speaking to his very own brothers who at this point did not trust in Him. “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.” -John 7:7

  11. kingskid48

    Such a good word, Pastor Mario. I’m a person who feels deeply about the things that concern me. It’s not easy for someone with my personality to always shake off the heaviness of the sin and hatred that abounds in this country these days. I’m not a person who can put my head in the sand and pretend it isn’t happening. Life isn’t a beach and it isn’t a party, and I don’t intend to let that day come upon me unaware. But there is still beauty if His world, there is love, and goodness, and kindness of neighbors, and answers to prayer. What a blessing men such as yourself, Perry Stone, and some others are to the Body of Christ in this hour.

  12. Barbara Wright

    Perfect timing!

    Sent from my iPhone

  13. Michelle

    Thank you! I feel like a Warrior again! We all need to be encouraged! We do tend to become weary in the battle.
    I know you’re busy in Calif, but it would be great if you could come to Ohio & speak sometime. ? I have 2 extra rooms.

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