Last night I had the opportunity to go out to dinner and catch up with a dear friend . Also a follower of Jesus, we spoke about how the darkness of this world is affecting us and others we know who we think of as strong-standing believers. We each spoke of our struggles with discouragement, feeling overwhelmed by the happenings in the world around us, coupled with crazy busy-ness and exhaustion that makes it difficult to find (or make) time for concerted periods of prayer & Bible reading or study - either independently or with others.
In talking about it out loud like that, we were able to recognize how our Enemy Down Under (south of Australia, Satan by name) is working overtime in the lives and hearts of BELIEVERS to leave us (feeling) defenseless, afraid, depressed and ineffectual for the work God has put us here at THIS time in history, to do.
After we parted, three separate Scriptures "appeared" in my head (technically the third showed up later):
1) "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble
And surround me with songs of deliverance." Ps. 32:7 (NLT)
Sometimes in our lives even the strongest-standing followers of Jesus get weak in the knees (look at Elijah, cowering in a cave after a MAJOR victory over false prophets, in 1 Kings 19). We hide and cower, and sometimes get so overwhelmed by fear and anxiety that we just want to curl up in a ball in our beds and never leave! But as with Elijah, God is even THERE with us! He does not condemn, and lets us know that even in the midst of the storms of our lives, He IS our hiding place. He protects and shields us in the midst of trouble. And He surrounds us with songs of deliverance, which then gives us the courage to move us OUT of our place of fear and anxiety into the deep peace and freedom that Jesus offers us.
2) "Praise be to the Lord, my Rock,
who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me." Ps. 144:1 - 2 (NIV)
It may sound strange thinking of God training us for war, side by side with His being our fortress, shield and deliverer, but the context is the same. It is when we are under siege that we most need these things. As Paul said, we are involved in full-scale war, but our battle is NOT against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph. 6:12). And we need to be prepared and trained for it, both offensively and defensively. We need to put on the "full armor of God," including the belt of truth that protects us from the lies of this world that is only about feelings, which easily deceive, the breastplate of [God's] righteousness, which protects your heart when negative feelings threaten to overwhelm, the shoes fitted to take you where the lost need to hear what you have to share about God's peace and how to acquire it, the shield of faith to extinguish all the "fiery darts" that the Evil One will throw at you to get you to become distracted, ineffectual and discouraged, the helmet of salvation, which reminds you of who and whose you are and what your purpose is in Him, and the sword of the Spirit, our offensive weapon, the word of God (the Bible), which Jesus used to correct and knock out the lies of the enemy with TRUTH, which doesn't change based on popular opinion or political correctness of the moment.
3) "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God,
follow him but if Baal [representing Satan] is God, follow him." 1 Kings 18: 24
We need to be FIRM in what we say we believe, so as not to be tossed around by every wind of "new" teachings, which are never new and often false. God doesn't change. If we stand with Him, neither will our principles, values and Kingdom-based standards. We will be less likely to allow ourselves to be swayed by lies and deceptive speech, or what others say about us. And we will be less affected or for less time than we were before by things that once took us down to devastation: bad news, circumstances, or whatever it might be. When we KNOW the One who HOLDS our future, we will grow in trust, and in so doing, in confidence and assurance of God's love for us, which will soon overflow into the lives of others.
Satan is doing his best to destroy the world around us, and he knows that if he can render the CHURCH ineffective and depressed, discouraged and fearful, we will not be able to shine the light that we contain: Christ in us, the hope of glory, and sadly that has already frequently overtaken us in our brokenness. But all is far from lost with us for two reasons:
1) Precisely because we ARE broken, we have more to share with OTHER broken individuals. Who could, after all, relate to someone who thought themselves intact? Who IS? Were you aware that in biblical days perfume was sold in boxes, and in order to be used, they had to be broken before the scent could come forth and be enjoyed? We are like the boxes, needing to be broken in order for the perfume to flow and bring out the scent of life in order to extinguish the stench of death of which our culture has so enthusiastically taken hold. Our "cracked pots," as it were, turn out to be the most effective vehicles for sharing our treasure!
2) God is NOT finished with us yet! In spite of how we FEEL about ourselves or what our circumstances may dictate, He HAS placed us on this planet at this time in history in order to achieve a specific work that God has planned for us to accomplish in HIS strength, and He will not stop working in us until that mission is complete! I love the story I heard about Ruth Bell Graham, famed evangelist Billy Graham's wife. As they passed a construction zone once, they came across a sign that read, "Construction Complete - thanks for your patience." Immediately she remarked, "That's what I want on my tombstone!" Our story - and purpose - will not be complete until the day we graduate into the eternal and spiritual realm and take our places with Christ!
So meanwhile, we stay connected: with our HEAD & bridegroom, Jesus Christ, His word, our "Owner's manual" (source of objective truth and road map to keep us heading in the right direction - always closer always to HIM), and to each other, because we were never meant to be lone rangers. Cut off from other believers, we can easily be swallowed up in frustration, pain, anxiety and despair. We lose sight of truth and believe the latest lies our culture and enemy wants to foist on us. We get sucked into the dark vortex of self, losing touch with those for whom Christ placed us here to love and serve. And we lose out on priceless opportunities to hear truth, receive much-needed instruction on how to deal with this world in God's way, and receive love, prayers and a sense of belonging like nowhere else!
In such a scary world, who needs Halloween? But we have a more powerful weapon to beat all that so heartily tries to beat us down everyday! We have "dual citizenship" if we belong to Christ, and have access to HIM 24/7! This world runs after superheroes with limited powers "beyond mortal men." But they are not REAL. We, on the other hand, have COMPLETE ACCESS to the very REAL GOD who CREATED this world and holds all power in His hands, who KNOWS all, can HEAL all, and most importantly, LOVES all. Imagine how this world would change if we DEMONSTRATED what a connection with Him could look like! Let's see together and strengthen one another in THAT hope, starting TODAY!
I LOVE THIS !!!
ReplyDeleteChristian unity, Jeannie... oh yes!!!