Thursday, June 13, 2013

Delight

Yesterday, June 12, was the anniversary of the day that I said the Sinner’s Prayer. I wrote about that in the post titled, “Healer,” and so I won’t go into detail about that now, but the reason I mention it is because I almost forgot that it was a special anniversary for me with the Lord because I was distracted by an email I’d gotten in the morning from someone who has been trying everything in their power to upset me to the point where I start reacting out of anger and frustration and fear rather than praying for the wisdom I need to deal with them.

The devil, or the enemy as we also call him, has a way of showing up in the most unexpected places, and he loves to bring attacks on us that distract us because when we’re distracted we can sometimes react to what he’s throwing at us and forget who we are in Christ. When we forget who we are in Christ, we forget our faith, we forget our salvation, we forget that we have a provider and protector and defender and a mighty conqueror who works on our behalf. When we forget who we are in Christ, we can easily fall into the traps of the enemy, because we start reacting from the places where we have our deepest most hidden fears and wounds. That’s one reason we call the devil the enemy – he is the enemy of our souls and the enemy of our faith. If he can get us to stop believing in the power available to us in God through the power of the blood of Christ Jesus, if he can get us to stop believing in our own salvation and the victory that was won for us on the Cross, if he can distract us enough so that we think we have to act right away rather than taking the time to pray and seek the wisdom of God, he’s got us right where he wants us.
2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,” and then it continues on in verse 5-6 with something very interesting, “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.” There is so much going on in that little passage. The beginning of it, verse 4, is often used, and it’s a powerful thought by itself, but the rest of the passage through verse 6 brings us even more depth of meaning.

We are not fighting a physical battle with people when we have conflicts. It may seem that way, but it’s not what it seems. Always, and I mean always, the battles we face and conflicts we face are always spiritual battles. It doesn’t matter whether we’re Christians or not or believers or not, it doesn’t matter what our faith belief or unbelief is. There are powers of evil that will try to bring conflict and chaos into every life, and when we know it’s a spiritual battle, and are able to recognize it for what it is, we have an edge, an ability to take a step back and say, help me see what this really is and help me do what needs to be done. When I say that, I’m talking to the Lord, because He is always the one who I go to for wisdom when I take the time to take that step back before doing what I think I should do or what someone else says I need to do.
That is why verses 5-6 are so important. We can recognize that we are in a spiritual battle, and that’s a great thing that helps us take that first step back. But then we might start going forward again, because if we’re not completely in tune with what God wants us to do, if we have gotten distracted or become fearful or have started to feel weak in our faith, we can take a step back, pray and then think we’re hearing from God and jump into a battle without really listening to or waiting for the wisdom of God. Verses 5-6 tell us that the weapons we have in God are able to help us to cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Let’s take that apart and think about it for a minute. There are times when I can argue with myself. I can know that something is right, but then a part of me is telling me that I have to do something else because even though I know what I need to do, I’m not trusting that the other person or people involved in the situation will do what is right. That is the situation I have been facing for a while now, and what the email I received yesterday started to do to me. I started to think about what the other person was doing, and what their motive was, and I started to try to figure out what I needed to do based on what they were doing. That’s what the world would tell me to do, but is it what God wants me to do? Maybe, maybe not.

There have been times in the past when I’ve been all worried about the machinations and manipulations of someone and God has told me to do nothing. There have been memorable times when I’ve listened and there have also been unfortunate times that are memorable in their own way when I have not. Yesterday when I read the email, God told me to wait. And although I kept thinking I needed to respond in some way, He just kept saying, "Wait." And then I’d read a scripture and try to find a meaning that would suit my desire to move ahead, but He just kept saying, "Wait." I can argue all I want, but if I really want to follow what He’s telling me, I’ll let my own arguments and my own thoughts be held captive to Christ – I’ll bring them to Him to let Him hold them captive, as verse 5 tells us we can. Then, and only then, can I begin to find a way to address the issues with the person I’ve been dealing with – when my obedience is perfect, when I am doing all He asks me to do, then I can address the disobedience in the other person, if that disobedience really exists. Remember, we are not at war against flesh and blood, and our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds. It might just be that as I address the situation according to what God is telling me to do, and if I stop trying to do what I think I should do, the situation might just get resolved the same way that it arose. It came straight from the pit of hell and it could go straight back there again. The enemy brought it, but God can make it disappear just as fast as it appeared.
There are of course times when we have to confront things that people do, and that is why it’s so important to wait if God tells me to wait. Whatever I do, He asks that I do it in love, and if I am dealing with a strong emotion that is negative, then I can’t act out of love. I’ll act out of whatever emotion is the strongest, because “Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks,” (Matthew 12:34). If I'm full of anger, what comes out will be angry. If I'm full of fear, what comes out will be tainted with fear. But if I'm full of love, watch out, because "hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs." (Proverbs 10:12) Our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds.

It is not easy for me to wait when I am feeling threatened, when the old wounds and fears of the past are looming larger than ever because someone has said or done something that reminds me of something that was said or done in the past, when I feel like someone is glorying over what they feel is a victory over me, when I feel like they are commending themselves by putting me down. But 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 reminds me of something else, “But ‘he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’ For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.” That passage refers back to what I think is an even more beautiful passage, Jeremiah 9:24, that the Lord gave to me just the day before I got that email, “But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord.”
As much as I’d like to act without waiting, as much as my fear says go when He says wait, as much as someone else might tell me that I need to do something that God has not told me to do, I’d rather take a step back, and wait for Him to show me His way, because I know in heart and in my soul that the enemy can’t win if the Lord is delighted in me.

Blessings,
Jannie Susan

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