2002-11-15
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Because there are so many verses to read in the Scriptures, it’s all too easy to miss a particular one that can really reveal something important to us in the context of our most profoundly urgent prayers. A good number of us are fighting spiritual warfare and are in pain because of it. That’s the devil’s way of dulling our senses and making it harder for us to see what God wants us to know. We must be so strong in our faithfulness to our Commander and so willing to listen for His commands to us, that the devil doesn’t succeed in this effort to break down communications, especially while we are on the front lines in the heat of battle. Here is an example of a citation we mustn’t forget: IS 54: 16-17 [God speaking through Isaiah], “I create the blacksmith, who builds a fire and forges weapons. I also create the soldier, who uses the weapons to kill. But no weapon will be able to hurt you; you will have an answer for all who accuse you. I will defend My servants and give them victory.” Dear Ones, this is huge! God first reminds us of just Who He is, our Creator, the Creator of everything. Then, He gives us the same message we have already seen and which bears repeating from 2 COR 10: 4-5, “The weapons we use in our fight are not the world’s weapons but God’s powerful weapons, which we used to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.” That’s not all. Here in IS 54: 17, God is telling us that what we are told to do by Him is going to work! That implies that He has imparted the power to us for it to work and should cause is to recall the extent of that power which we were told about in EPH 1: 18-20. God is also telling us that we are not alone on the front lines; He is with us. And finally, He tells us that He will see to it that ultimate victory will be ours, not the adversary’s. Through all our pain, sorrow, and loss, we should never forget this crucial message. It should encourage us not to give up when we feel like we would like to take the easy way out. Our Commander-in-Chief will not abandon us [IS 49: 14-16].
Frankly, I’m honored to fight on the side of a Commander Who has my name written on the palm of His hand. How about you? While that might not lessen the pain we are feeling amidst the battle or its immediate aftermath, it does help me not to forget God’s bigger plan for us. Further help is offered in getting us not to lose sight of God’s plan in citations like RO 8: 18 and 1 COR 2: 7-9. The first one reminds us that the suffering we have now is small in comparison to the glory that will be revealed to us. Let’s look at the second one. “The wisdom I [Paul] proclaim is God’s secret wisdom, which is hidden from mankind, but which He had already chosen for our glory even before the world was made. None of the rulers of this world knew this wisdom. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as the Scripture [IS 64: 4] says, ‘What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love Him.’” The wisdom referred to here is that Christ is our Messiah, our Savior. It is God’s plan to reclaim the lives of those who believe in the Son from the marketplace of slavery to sin and certain spiritual death.
We can find more encouragement while in battle from some key “combat intelligence” that God gives us in 1 COR 2: 6. “Yet I do proclaim a message of wisdom to those who are spiritually mature. But it is not the wisdom that belongs to this world or to the powers that rule this world-powers that are losing their power.” We shouldn’t miss that last phrase, “powers that are losing their power.” That is telling us we are in the process of wining the war! We might want to understand how all of this is possible, since we are really feeling the pain right now as we wage spiritual warfare. I COR 2: 10-12 helps to answer this question. “But it was to us that God made known His secret by means of His Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, even the hidden depths of God’s purposes. It is only a person’s own spirit within him that knows all about him; in the same way, only God’s Spirit knows all about God. We have not received this world’s spirit; instead, we have received the Spirit sent by God, so that we may know all that God has given us. In other words, the Holy Spirit has been sent by the Commander to establish a direct line of communication between the Source of all the wise commands we are given and us, the soldiers on the front lines of battle. As long as we are tenacious in our faithfulness, nothing can break that line of communication [RO 8: 38-39]. Since we are told by One Who never lies that His commands obeyed will win the battle, it would be incredible foolishness to allow the devil to keep us from hearing God’s commands or choosing to obey them. We must examine our lives to see if we have donned God’s full armor, if we are listening carefully for His commands, and if we are obeying them faithfully. If the answer is “yes” to all these questions, then we haven’t wasted the blessings of our salvation.
PRAYER: O Lord, how blessed we are that You are our Commander-in-Chief as we wage our everyday battles with Satan and his forces of evil. 2 CH 16: 9 reminds us that You reveal Yourself to us. “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” IS 41: 13 are Your words to encourage us as we suffer the pain we do. “I am the Lord, your God; I strengthen you and tell you, ‘Do not be afraid; I will help you.’” Those of us who are willing to take a step back from the pain we are feeling to look at Your interaction with mankind over their history will believe and understand what the Psalmist said in PS 107: 43, “Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.” We do see that, and praise You with all our hearts for it. Satan would like us to take the easy way out and to stop seeing Your wonderful attributes and basking in Your love for us. But, we who hold on and endure in our faith are privileged to think about the words of PS 143: 5, “I remember the day of old, I think about all Your deeds, I meditate on the works of Your hands.” The story of King Jehoshaphat’s battle against his enemies in 2 CH 20: 1-23 is one of many examples of how You intervened and directed those who love You to victory against evil. When we look over mankind’s history to the present, we can’t miss that the Ammorites, the Moabites, and the Edomites no longer exist, while Your people, the Jews, recently celebrated the 3000th anniversary of their city Jerusalem. You have never abandoned the believing warriors who persevere in doing battle for You. Even though we must humbly confess our sins to You whenever we pray as we do today, You find it in Your heart to keep on loving us and guiding us to victory in the name of Your Son. No matter what form our battles with Satan take, You are there for us. We stand against the adversary with courage that You have given us. We dedicate ourselves to being loyal, diligent, persistent, and ever watchful. You have our adoration and our worship and will have it forever. We honor Your name and that of the Son. Any glory that is to be had in our of our battles, we give to You. You have our hearts and our spirits. In the name of our valiant Savior, we pray. Amen.
I keep referring to the battle Jehoshaphat and the Jews fought in 2 CH 20, because out of that story arises a battle plan that is important “combat intelligence” given to us by God. That will be the subject of tomorrow’s message. It can’t be easy for God to know that His children, those whom He loves more than anything, are in such pain. Imagine how He felt when He realized before the pre-Creation council in heaven that it would be necessary for Him to send His only begotten Son to earth to eventually suffer and die on the cross to save us. That doesn’t even mention the pain He felt as Christ actufally suffered for us. And yet, our God was courageous and unselfish enough to make this tremendous sacrifice and to endure watching His beloved Child in such pain, as the world never before had seen. Why would He have been willing to do this? Why does He endure seeing us in pain at the devil’s hand now? It’s because He loves us so much and won’t let His own pain dull His remembrance that this is the only way we can be sanctified and eventually glorified to return to Him. It is because God sets the example of not forgetting His main plan-to bring as many of us back to Himself for eternity as possible-even through He must be feeling excruciating pain at seeing His children suffer. That helps to define what love is all about to me. How about you? Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn