Weapons of War

Fear and Discouragement: Courtesy Google Images

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

~ Ephesians 6:12 ESV ~

As children of God, I believe we know in the depths of our souls that our security is found in Him. But as we continue to navigate life as finite beings, I think we forget (I know I do) that the struggles we face, the tragedies we endure, or the setbacks we fight to overcome are part of a much larger-scale battle, unseen to our human eyes, but real nonetheless.

This battle isn't to be taken lightly, but also not something to be afraid of.

You see, since before the beginning of time, a war has been ongoing. Only one side will come out victorious. We get to choose which side we want to align ourselves with.

I will say, the winning side is God. Creator of the Universe. The One who breathed life into our very being. There's no doubt in my mind.

So why, if God is so mighty, does this battle go on so long? Why doesn't He just end it right now? (Maybe I am the only one who's wondered?)

After reading through Job, I have come to realize it doesn't matter why God allows anything to happen. I may never know the answers, but I can trust that His ways are more effective than I could ever attempt to imagine. And He invites us to participate in His plan, follow His lead, and trust. 

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You,

because he trusts in You.

~ Isaiah 26:3 NKJV ~

The problem with trust, however, is that we have to take our hands off the thing that we want His intervention in. If we truly want Him to move in that area, we have to let Him do so in His time, His way.

This is hard.

This past week, I was reminded of a Scripture spoken over me when I was 18-years old, graduating high school:

But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

~ Isaiah 40:31 NKJV ~

It's in the waiting that our trust is tested, isn't it? Especially when we don't know the outcome. Maybe it'll be all that we'd hoped or imagined it would be. Maybe it'll look nothing like we'd imagined.

It'll be better.

I have a friend who was a pastor. He spent his years giving to anyone who had need. His wife once told me how they'd spent months saving for a new sofa, and just when they were almost able to walk into a store and pick their sofa, the couple sensed the Lord ask them to give that money to someone else who needed it. In obedience, they gave it. And a sofa better than the one they were looking at was given to them.

This same pastor drove cars that he could pay cash for. He couldn't justify purchasing something new when he could drive a perfectly dependable "beater". Then one day, he was encouraged to see what leasing a vehicle for his wife would cost. In the process, he was given a deal that put him into a pickup truck he never imagined or hoped for. It was everything he'd wished for ... and more.

He'd learned contentment through the waiting.

It would be a disservice if we weren't warned of the trenches in warfare we will walk through while we wait.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

~ Proverbs 13:12 NKJV ~

It's important to understand that the devil, our enemy, is seeking to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10). He is smart enough to know that attacking us in our areas of strength will reap no reward for him.

He is also in the waiting. Watching. Taking notes. And he can see the areas that are weakening due to either fatigue or doubt. These spots are like holes in our fence where he can gain access and do with us as he did with Eve in the garden. He plays mind games, questioning God's faithfulness in such a way, with enough truth-mixed-with-lies that we don't immediately recognize the deception or that we're being injected with a deadly virus.

I have found seven weapons Satan likes to use against us:

1. Deception: The Art of Twisting the Truth
2. Temptation: Luring into Sin
3. Accusation: The Voice of Shame and Condemnation
4. Division: Sowing Discord and Disunity
5. Fear and Discouragement: Paralyzing the Heart
6. Pride: The Subtle Trap of Self-Exaltation
7. Distraction: Pulling Hearts Away from God

(retrieved from Bible Analysis)

We also have a prescription for protection against these fiery darts:

1. Belt of Truth
2. Breastplate of Righteousness
3. Shoes for feet: the readiness given by the gospel of peace
4. Shield of Faith
5. Helmet of Salvation
6. Sword of the Spirit
7. Prayer

(Ephesians 6:10-19)

Over the next few weeks, I will break each one down and discuss them, as well as the truth we need to break off the chains that would weigh us down.

We are always under attack from the enemy. We will always be targeted by the enemy for as long as there is breath in our lungs. We need to understand that we are not powerless.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

~ II Corinthians 10:3-6 NKJV ~

If your wait-time has been long, and you feel weary, please allow me to tell you this: it's normal as a human. As children of God, we have this hope, that Jesus cares for us and wants us to allow Him to carry our burdens.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

~ Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV ~

Until next time--and beyond--find rest for your soul in Christ Jesus.

💜 Karlene J 💜

Getting in the Way of Progress

Broken glass image, courtesy Google Images

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God'? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:27-31)

We see our brokenness. 

We struggle.

We fight.

We do everything we can think of to fix it (whatever it is). But we know that we must work it out if we want to be acceptable to those around us--or even ourselves.

It's not that we've chosen it, or that we find some twisted pleasure in it.

It happens. Jesus told us it would happen (John 16:33).

And when it does, we have a choice to make. And through our choices, we can strengthen our relationships ... 

... or break them. So choose carefully.

Throw in the towel and give up--forfeit--or dig in our heels and choose to stand our ground.

I have some encouragement for us. We aren't the first. We won't be the last. And we aren't alone. When we try to fix things on our own, we will inevitably make a mess. (I know, I am supposed to be encouraging us.)

A look through Scripture, we can learn how to avoid making catastrophic messes by reading the examples left for us. 

Let's look at our forefather, Abram (later Abraham), for example. He was visited by the Lord in Genesis and instructed to leave the land of his fathers, "2And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing ... 7to your offspring I will give this land" (Genesis 12:2,7).

At the time of Abram's departure from Haran, he was 75-years old (Genesis 12:4). Mind you, Abram was also without children. His wife, Sarai (later Sarah), was barren (infertile)--a blight on her, socially, during that time.

Imagine the thrill Abram must have felt to be told by God that he would be a father.

What a promise!

I can imagine they must have felt feather-light, romance increased, intimacy no longer a strain, and nursery planning? No sweat.

And then the waiting began. Each month passed with no flutters of life in the womb. Months rolled into years. Then Sarai, knowing she was well past the years of childbearing and lost hope in being the one to birth the promised child, turned to Abram and encouraged him to take her maidservant to give him a son.

He listened to her. God's plan was back on track. Right?

"So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress" (Genesis 16:3-4).

Wrong.

It would not be until Abram was 99-years old that God changed his name to Abraham (father of many nations), and Sarai's to Sarah, while at the same time, God re-states His promise of a son, born through Sarah.

A year later, Isaac (meaning laughter) would be born, who later fathered Jacob, the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, through whom we receive our Savior, Jesus.

Does this mean Sarah lost faith in God?

I can't say for certain, but I sincerely don't believe so. We have borne in us a broken barometer that tells us we need to take matters into our hands--to help God's plan along. Some of us fall into the trap of "doing" rather than "being". 

Recently, my family has faced some trials that have had us scrambling for relief. And then I remembered a moment of time when I looked over the Detroit river with my 2-year old son in my arms, and believed I heard the Lord speak to my heart. Tragedies had struck our nation, and the proverbial domino effect hit our family. That day, I watched a barge make a U-turn in the river when I heard the words echo in my heart, "Like this barge, I will turn your family's struggles around."

I sit here, 24-years later. I have done everything I could to help God's plan. And I am exhausted. Wounds have been inflicted by well-meaning "friends," and I have stared into the Scripture with the words, "I believe, help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24).

Does this mean I've lost my faith? 

I don't believe so.

It's been 42-years since I stopped running from the Lord and allowed Him to begin piecing my broken heart back together. I've seen beautiful, exciting, powerful days, and I have seen heartache. I have experienced the pain of loss, disappointment, and disillusionment. I have suffered rejection and have put up a hand to protect myself from the same. Miraculous provision and unrealized dreams are no strangers to me. 

And yet, in the words of author George Mueller, "If the Lord fails me this time, it will be the first time."

I've told friends, that in days like these, I can relate to Peter and Job. The day many of Jesus's followers departed, he turned to His disciples and asked,

"Do you want to go away as well?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God" (John 6:67-69).

And Job's response in the midst of his horrifying circumstances:

"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him ..." (Job 13:15)

We can always hope in Him. Even on our worst days, it is a good day when He is in it. 

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon you, because he trusts in you." (Isaiah 26:3)

 As the group CAIN sings, "on my best day, I'm a child of God. On my worst day, I'm a child of God."

Until next time, hold tight to the God who holds you in the palm of His hand. 

💜 Karlene J  💜