Fighting Life’s Dragons

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled Fighting Life's Dragons, was written by Bill Crowder. Have you ever fought a dragon?

If you answered no, author Eugene Peterson disagrees with you. In a long obedience in the same direction, he wrote, Dragons are projections of our fears, horrible constructions of all that might hurt us. A peasant confronted by a magnificent dragon is completely outclassed.

Peterson's point? Life is filled with dragons, the life-threatening health crisis, the sudden job loss, the failed marriage, the estranged prodigal child. These dragons are the supersized dangers and frailties of life that we're inadequate to fight alone. But in those battles, we have a champion, not a fairy tale champion, the ultimate champion who has fought on our behalf and conquered the dragons that seek to destroy us. Whether they're dragons of our own failures or the spiritual enemy who desires our destruction, our champion is greater, allowing Paul to write of Jesus in Colossians 2. Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

The destructive forces of this broken world are no match for him. The moment we realize that the dragons of life are too big for us is the moment we can begin to rest in Christ's rescue. We can confidently say with Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, but thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Colossians chapter 2, verses 9 through 15. When you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us.

He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross, and having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Let's pray. Father, thank you for being more than enough for the threats we will face today.

There are many people that are struggling today and we ask that you would lift their spirits with a touch from your hand. We praise you with the Apostle Paul and thank you for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ and ask that you would give us the wisdom and strength we need to walk with you every day. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you, Lord.