The Gospel According to Rage Against the Machine

During my formative high school years, the Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine blared into my ears more than any other bands. These musicians remain part of my heritage and, thus, live on in my iTunes library.

I ran the other day and a familiar Rage song rang into my earbuds.  While Zach de la Rocha and his crew shun religion and any establishment, the song immediately got my mind rolling for the next few miles.*

Know Your Enemy.

The Bible tells us that, “[Our] enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV). He works tirelessly to keep us contained and restrained. The enemy surrounds people with mental grayness, spiritual sleepiness, and a lack of energy and encumbers them with stagnancy and complacency. In my mind’s eye, I see people wrapped in Saran wrap, going about their daily lives mummified. They are alive but limited in what they can do.

The enemy wants it this way.

How are we bound? It happens in our own minds. We compare our lows with the highs of those around us. We mentally bolster the person sitting next to us thinking, I could never do what they do, simultaneously seeing ourselves as ineffective and insignificant. We shrink away from our deepest goals and dreams preferring the comfort of the easy road of mind-numbing television, social media, and daily routine.

Satan whispers your inadequacies and failures in your ears so quietly, so softly that you are sure it comes from inside you. When he speaks, the enemy uses his, “native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

“Why would you try that? You’ll never be able to do that. ”

“You’ll never be good enough. They will never love you.”

“Nobody cares about you. You are all alone.”

The devil uses these tricks. He, “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). He wants you to sit in blind contentment, never attempting your big dreams, never fulfilling your purpose. He wants to keep you small, shackled, and silenced. He doesn’t even have to lock you down; he gets you to do it for him. And he does this because he knows the truth and …

HE’S AFRAID OF YOU.

The enemy recognizes the reality that everyone, including you, is a giant (and I mean a massive giant) in their own lives. You have more power to effect change than you will ever possibly come to realize. Your power is second to no other creature on this earth.

Maybe you don’t feel like the superhero of your own life. Maybe you don’t feel like a giant. I would encourage you not to go by what you feel but by what God declares.

The Lord tells us to be, “strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). He states that He will make a way for us.  “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19). “[We] can do all things through Him who strengthens [us]” (Philippians 4:13). The list goes on.

Isaiah 40:29-31 says,“ He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” God bestows in us a power unlike any other, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Finally, God gave us strength in the world for He says, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (Luke 10:19).

What do these verses apply to? Everything.

Your company. Your book. Your vision. Your family. Your relationship. Your ministry. Your dreams. Your desires.

None of it is impossible, none of it is too big for God.

When the whispers come and the lies creep stealthily in, know your enemy and believe in the God who created you. Stand tall. Step out. Stride forward.

Know Your God.

Know Your Worth.

Know Your Enemy.

 

* the content of the song has nothing to do with the ideas in this blog post save the title.