Tilting at Windmills

Over the years I have heard the saying "Your tilting at windmills again" but I never really understood what the saying meant - so when I read it again just this week and in the context in which it was written I decided to check it out further.

Of course when I'm in a quandary as to what things mean and when confusion or questions appear in my life of course I do what most people do and 'google' it.

Must admit I was a tad surprised by the answer I got - "tilting at windmills" could mean you are interpreting situations wrongly or exaggerating the real truth of the matter and it can even mean that you are attacking imaginary enemies.

All of these are great examples apparently of what tilting at windmills infers. Wikipedia tells me that the "phrase derives from an episode in the novel DON QUIXOTE by Miguel de Cervantes, wherein protagonist Don Quixote fights windmills that he imagines are giants".

Well armed with that knowledge I somehow couldn't get the phrase our of my mind and God somehow amazingly used it to speak to me so now I am sharing it with you - God is awesome don't you think?

Whatever tilting at windmills means to you, the thing is that we have to KNOW THE TRUTH and LOVE THE TRUTH  - we have to be so careful to know what is true and love/cling to that truth no matter what.

As Christians we have an enemy, an enemy who is out to get us and will virtually stop at nothing to confuse us and send us tail spinning into doubt and uncertainty.

In the book of Revelation God sent messages to the churches warning them of the wrath to come if they didn't heed the truths and turn from their ways and follow Him. The people were listening to lies, ignoring God's truth - and today in our topsy turvy world we are so much worse.

The Christian Church is being attacked more than ever before and lots of people I have talked to take the approach - "it will be OK - you are tilting at windmills - it's not nearly as bad as you are making out". I'm so sorry but I disagree.

As Followers of Jesus we MUST believe and love the truth that is found in the Bible. The truth about who Jesus is, what he has done for us and how we are to live.

God has given us a blue print if you like - a perfect example of how we are to live - yet we have, like those churches of long ago, become 'lukewarm' in our love for Jesus and 'lukewarm' will not cut it with God - what does He say in Revelation 3:16 if we are lukewarm? That He will 'spit us out of His mouth'. Can't get much plainer than that!

My message to us all is to watch out for anyone who does not teach us the truths found in the Word of God - there are many out there who dearly love to label us a weirdo's or cultists all because we dare to follow the teaching of Jesus and have given our lives to Him - we are born again in Jesus and the world out there does not like that one little bit. As far as they are concerned we are indeed 'tilting at windmills'.

God has indeed given us a very special map, if you like, of how to plainly get to the very special place he has promised to His followers. The world at large will be screaming at us that it is completely futile and what we are believing is false and wrong.

Just this week here in Australia the 7.30 Report (a  current affairs program) reported false and misleading information about evangelical men who are supposedly the worst sort of domestic violence perpetrators in the world, when in actual facts the opposite is true according to the latest New Zealand statistics.

There is a virtual war on Christians even as we speak and as I write this blog - a war to discourage, humiliate, belittle and condemn any who claim the name of Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

When we turn our lives over to God we begin immediately to live with a completely different set of values to the world. Values that come directly from God. the world on the other hand bellows loud and long what their values are and demands our utmost attention and anyone who declines to bow before that is set of values is slandered and labelled.

The world as we know it is full of lies and we are called to fight against them - and that my friends can be extremely difficult!

Once saved we need to put on the whole armour of God to protect us from the fiery darts of Satan - the ruler of this world of ours. Like salmon migrating to their breeding spots we are fighting an up-stream battle with wild waters and our own set of hungry and pernicious bears just waiting to snatch us, chew us up and spit us out.

So the world looks at us and labels us as foolish daydreamers, living a futile and silly life content to live in fairy land, where in fact the opposite is true.

We so need to follow the truth that God has set down for us with all of our might and with all of the fight we have in us regardless of the consequences of what the world can do to us.

So no matter what will happen to us - our families may question what we do and our associations, friends may forsake and even abandon us or at the best no longer understand us. But the power of Jesus Christ now lives within us and we can be overcomers, even warriors for Him - unafraid, brave and courageous.

Not sure about you but I'm personally going to hang onto the promise in 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9
"we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

Yes, being a Christian in today's world is getting to be a pretty hard thing. But you know, Jesus overcame so much more and if we are His then there is really nothing the world can throw at us that can take that away.

So are we "tilting at windmills" as the world will charge? Certainly not! We are the living proof as to what Christ has done in our lives - we are changed for the good and for eternity. Let's show our candles to the world and charge into the darkness with confidence knowing we are His and His alone.

God bless you all this week as we step out with Christ armed with the helmet of salvation and His breastplate of righteousness.