As a younger person, I watched my share of professional wrestling on TV.  In that theater of make believe, one particular dark-side wrestler named Hans Schmidt comes to mind.  His character suggested a Nazi-type personality ready and willing to annihilate all adversaries.  His signature was to get his opponent weakened to the point of pinning. He would then slam whoever it was to the mat and the referee would start to count… ONE, TWO… and before the count of three, the huge and fiendish Hans would pull his opponent’s shoulders off the mat for the joy of punishing him further. In my naiveté, I knew one thing for certain back then: Hans Schmidt was mean and I rooted against him because he acted like the devil.

Deeper revelation helps us move beyond the make believe theater to realize that life itself is a spiritual battle; a “believe and make” place complete with behind the scenes operatives.  In Eph. 6:10-18, the Bible admonishes us to be strong in the power of God’s might; that we are to put on the whole armor of His, in order to stand against the wiles of the devil; that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  The passage goes on to speak of the elements of spiritual armor and the one power connection necessary for us to win: Intimate conversation or PRAYER with the Ultimate Promoter!

This brings me to a Bible study I once had as a volunteer in our local prison. I met a giant of a man who had spent the past 30 years of his life in and out of jail.  Standing more than 6′6″ tall and weighing over 300 pounds and with feet the size of small sleds, the man on the surface was intimidating.  In spite of his size, he revealed a tender side. His admission to me of living a wasted life and existing as a big time loser was evidence and a sad confession indeed.  In a twisted way, he reminded me of an unsuspecting opponent of the fiendish wrestler Hans Schmidt… pinned and punished over and over again.  Only in his case, the situation was real and the “behind the scenes” influence of evil or the devil himself was to this point successful in demoting and disorganizing his entire life.

So how do any of us, including my big inmate friend, step into the ring this coming year and take on the devil, daunting circumstances, ineffective religious traditions, or the Hans Schmidt’s of this world?  The size of the problem or the size of the person is entirely irrelevant when the size of God is considered. If God can create things from nothing and speak things into existence, He can take on an assignment of divine restoration, no matter the challenge. So, wrestling fan or not, catch this scenario for the coming year…

ONE… In His strength, we’re off the mat; TWO… we’re on our knees in prayer; and THREE… we’re up and in Him. There is no chance of us being pinned or made a loser this coming year… With the power of Christ in us, 2014 welcomes us as the shining light and the flavoring salt God has called us to be—a loyal heart, a willing mind, and with action that glorifies God, we are His OVERCOMERS just waiting to happen. Now that family and friends….is cause for a Happy New Year!

 Romans 8:37