I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence
cometh my help ?
My help cometh from the Lord
who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121: 1-2
For quite a few months now, or more aptly put - years, I have been struggling with an assignment of evil against my very soul. The enemy comes to "steal, kill, and destroy", but God comes "that ye might have life, life everlasting." During this time I have been functioning in my daily life, succeeding and excelling in my work, supporting the ministry of the local church, and bringing encouragement to others in e-mails, letters, cards, in person in my work, and more recently in my blogs. Then when I am alone I often go back to this place of "hiding" where I fight for the truths I believe while battling for my very life. I have made my stand for the pursuit of holiness, and regardless of my ups and downs, ins and outs, one constant holds true - I do trust God, sight unseen, as I trusted Him as a child and came to know Him in simple, childlike faith. I have been labeled "naive", but it is not naivety, it is knowledge, proven, tested, tried, and true in the crucibles of pain and suffering, abandonment, betrayal, life and death. Childlike trust rewarded.
This is all He asks of us, but as we "mature" questions come in as we take our eyes off of Jesus and put them on ourselves, our wants, our desires, not asking Him the plan He has for us. We come to doubt, because we do not see the results we want or when things don't happen at the time we think they should. In an instant world of convenience where everything is fast, we grow doubtful when we don't get our demands met right now. But, to once more quote my younger son, "God is not a vending machine," nor is He a puppet master.
When we accept Christ in faith unseen, in a moment of revelation that overwhelms our souls, unless the relationship is cultivated by spending time with Him, by "studying to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman who needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth," the euphoria, aka "mountain top experience" slowly begins to dwindle, the candle to fade, because satan does not sleep, and the cares of this world, our lives, come in to dampen our spirits, or in modern vernacular "rain on our parades."
Jesus speaks of this experience in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 16 where he likens our growth to seed that falls on rocky soil, shallow soil, and good soil. We are called to remain vigilant in our stand, our beliefs, in our God. We have an enemy in the spiritual realm as well as in this natural world as we watch our corrupt government making decisions more likened to a dictatorship than a democracy, as we watch church scandals or see the church members fighting against each other. Jesus says "it is by our fruit" we will be known, by our "love for each other," yet we destroy each other, kill each other with the tiniest weapon, our tongues. How many lives have you seen destroyed by this tiny adversary? So we rise up in anger, or we become indifferent, not wanting to become involved we retreat rather than stand.
As believers in Christ we know that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." In Ephesians 6 He gives us our weapons for this unseen enemy who is behind every problem in the world, in our government, and in our very lives. He gives us the loin girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. If you read on you discover the one thing, the essential weapon needed to cover all of these spiritual coverings, the oil of prayer. Without prayer these weapons will be rendered useless as much as metal in our modern day rusts from disuse or not properly cleaning or maintaining it.
Still, knowing this, doing this, you will continue to be tested, but we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimonies. We become steadfast, regardless of what we see or hear, we stand in Whom we know. Rather than to criticize each other, we should be examining our own selves, because until our hearts are right before God, change will not come. Change begins in our individual hearts, as we pour out our fears, our failures, our desires laid down at His feet. Hope is birthed and fears laid to rest at the foot of the cross.
At this moment my heart cries for peace, a place of rest to hear His voice. I am learning to quiet my soul, listen for His still, small voice as the storm rages around me and rescue is not in sight for myself and others. But I can lay it down, and I will continue to stand in Whom I have believed and the promises He has given to me, regardless of what happens next in my life to try to turn my loyalty from the Truth to the liar who deceives. Childlike trust in His promises.
Each of us face battles, but overcoming only comes one way - by relinquishing your hold and laying it to rest, by giving it over to God in whom our help comes. If you pick it up, then lay it back down, but leave it down. Today as you search the Word for your own answers or as you stand in faith for another one seeking the truth, ask God to give you a promise, then stand regardless of the winds of change. If you are truly seeking, the promise will come. He is not a man that He should lie. Trust in that!
Jesus speaks of this experience in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 16 where he likens our growth to seed that falls on rocky soil, shallow soil, and good soil. We are called to remain vigilant in our stand, our beliefs, in our God. We have an enemy in the spiritual realm as well as in this natural world as we watch our corrupt government making decisions more likened to a dictatorship than a democracy, as we watch church scandals or see the church members fighting against each other. Jesus says "it is by our fruit" we will be known, by our "love for each other," yet we destroy each other, kill each other with the tiniest weapon, our tongues. How many lives have you seen destroyed by this tiny adversary? So we rise up in anger, or we become indifferent, not wanting to become involved we retreat rather than stand.
As believers in Christ we know that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." In Ephesians 6 He gives us our weapons for this unseen enemy who is behind every problem in the world, in our government, and in our very lives. He gives us the loin girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. If you read on you discover the one thing, the essential weapon needed to cover all of these spiritual coverings, the oil of prayer. Without prayer these weapons will be rendered useless as much as metal in our modern day rusts from disuse or not properly cleaning or maintaining it.
Still, knowing this, doing this, you will continue to be tested, but we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimonies. We become steadfast, regardless of what we see or hear, we stand in Whom we know. Rather than to criticize each other, we should be examining our own selves, because until our hearts are right before God, change will not come. Change begins in our individual hearts, as we pour out our fears, our failures, our desires laid down at His feet. Hope is birthed and fears laid to rest at the foot of the cross.
At this moment my heart cries for peace, a place of rest to hear His voice. I am learning to quiet my soul, listen for His still, small voice as the storm rages around me and rescue is not in sight for myself and others. But I can lay it down, and I will continue to stand in Whom I have believed and the promises He has given to me, regardless of what happens next in my life to try to turn my loyalty from the Truth to the liar who deceives. Childlike trust in His promises.
Each of us face battles, but overcoming only comes one way - by relinquishing your hold and laying it to rest, by giving it over to God in whom our help comes. If you pick it up, then lay it back down, but leave it down. Today as you search the Word for your own answers or as you stand in faith for another one seeking the truth, ask God to give you a promise, then stand regardless of the winds of change. If you are truly seeking, the promise will come. He is not a man that He should lie. Trust in that!
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