“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” (Psalm 2:1)
Because they cannot have their way, because they cannot do what they want to do when they want to, they cannot obtain what others have. Because pride and envy fill their hearts, and because they know there is a God in heaven that will not give them all they desire.
When someone realizes that they are not the master of their own destiny, they will hate the One that is.
“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:” (Isaiah 14:13)
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the only ones that sit there, that along with pride in the self-realization of the immense beauty that Lucifer was created with, caused him to rage and rebel.
When people realize that limitations have been placed upon them, they will question why, they will seek for the source of that mastery over them, and at that point in their life, they will either willingly submit to that Sovereign authority or fight against it.
“And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” (Acts 9:5)
Paul had a brilliant mind, he was able to retain and recall information at will, he may have called Christ Lord in that moment on the road to Damascus, but, and I offer only conjecture here, it took three years in Arabia alone with the Lord to reveal that true light to him, for him to accept the truth, that Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
Then he stopped raging.
Once the Almighty reveals this truth to us, it is not a decision for us to make in whether we will submit fully to His will in our lives or not, it is a commandment, and we are expected to obey. Not in part, not in certain areas of our lives, holding unto ourselves parts of the desires of the flesh, but fully and completely.
Service is required.
“The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.” (Matt. 10:24)
We are not sanctified yet, but are being sanctified, and sanctification is not only a growing action, but a removing one, and so our old nature, our flesh at times will not only resist, but rage. When the flesh that serves the law of sin realizes that the mind now serves the Lord Jesus Christ, when it realizes that you are being sanctified and it is being killed, it will begin to rage in ways that the heathen cannot begin to comprehend.
Satan knows his end, and believes it, your old nature refuses to, it still has life and will until the moment you are glorified, and it is not going to quit, it will fight you every step of the way.
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Gal. 5:17)
For some that battle is the fiercest first thing in the morning, for others it is the evening, for each of us there is a time of the day when the mind that serves Christ begins to listen to that old nature inside of us, and in that moment you must seek the face of the Almighty, you must go against your nature.
Sanctification is a process, a lifelong process, that both encourages and breaks down, that lifts us up and hurts, causes the soul to exalt the Most High above the heavens, and the flesh to despise the Living God.
Sanctification is a battle my friends.
The offerings of the world surround us, promising pleasures, the wiles of the devil assail us, attempting to make us rage, but the fiercest battle is within you, your flesh, your old nature hates you and will do all it can to stop you on the path to glory.
Recognizing this is only the beginning of that battle.
