Strength to take the land

Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed.

For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe,

 even if you were told. Habakkuk 1: 5

I woke up this morning with the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves by Verdi from his opera Nabucco running through my mind. I didn’t know anything about this opera, I just knew the tune. The opera is based on the Hebrews in exile in Assyria singing with longing for their homeland, similar to Psalm 137. 

It then occurred to me that when God led the Children of Israel out of Egypt after 400 years of slavery, they had no idea what the Promised Land was like. No one had ever seen it, not even Moses. They had no vision. Even when the spies returned after their expedition to scout out the land, 10 of them saw the Promised Land through the eyes of slaves, not as Children of Israel. It was all about identity. 

They didn’t see God as the covenant keeping God of Abraham or themselves as his people. Despite God having released them from slavery through mighty miracles, they didn’t see themselves as holy and dearly loved, a treasured possession. They were just worthless slaves.

That leads me to ask, how do we look at our situations? Through the eyes of slaves to sin or as children of God with an inheritance to take hold of? 

This last year has shown us that like the Children of Israel, none of us have been this way before. None of us have endured a pandemic and none of us really know what the way ahead looks like.  We can look at it as slaves bound by fear and insecurity believing we are never going to be free of the virus, or we can look with eyes of faith as children of God. He is laying before us an opportunity, never given to previous generations to press into something of God that will be so spectacular we wouldn’t believe it, even if we were told. 

Bill Johnson says that if Israel had walked into the Promised Land a few weeks after leaving Egypt, they would not have had the maturity to maintain the inheritance. The Lord will put us in situations so we have to push through to build spiritual strength, trust and faith in God so when the answers to our prayers and longings are released, we have the maturity to give all glory to God. 

These last 13 months have been a time for perseverance, patient endurance and seeking God.  Many of us have had time and space to build up our spiritual muscles, to learn to trust God in the wilderness for provision and presence. This will mean when we stand on the edge of our promised land, we will have faith and courage to cross over and a deep trust in God believing him to see souls saved, strongholds demolished and our nations turn to Jesus. 

The prize is enormous but if we have used the last year to fix our gaze upon Jesus, to know his voice, to hear his strategies, to catch the whisper of heaven and see a glimpse of his glory, we will have the maturity to give all glory to God when his sovereign power sweeps our nations. 

We know God wants to save our nations but all glory must go to him. When thousands are saved, blind eyes opened, deaf ears unstopped, the lame walking all that must be heard is an anthem of praise, thanksgiving and adoration to our God from his amazed, awe-struck, blood-bought children, overwhelmed by his goodness and love. 

The power of One

When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man – and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. Mark 5: 15 – 17

The reaction of the local people to the casting out of the legion of demons from the demon possessed man is very interesting.  When they came and found the man ‘dressed and in his right mind’ they were not astonished or amazed but afraid.  This was not the normal reaction of the crowd when Jesus performed miracles. That was usually one of wonder and praise to God.  These people were afraid and when they saw what had happened to their pigs, they ‘pleaded’ with Jesus to leave.

They did have a bit of a point though. 2000 pigs had just gone helter skelter over the cliff and their livelihood with it. To lose 2000 porkers at one time would have been quite a blow to quite a few people, probably Gentiles, as they were the ones who kept pigs, the ultimate unclean animals.

Their only thought was the loss of their pigs in the lake. Jesus’ thought had been the delivering of a wretched demon-possessed man. In the big picture, his was the greater need. Jesus always went for the one, the individual. He told the parable of the lost sheep, where the shepherd left the 99 to go and look for the one.  Jesus wanted to know who had touched his garment in a heaving crowd of humanity when the lady plagued by bleeding reached out for her miracle.

Jesus’ concern for the individual is a wonderful encouragement for us as well. Sometimes, it can feel as if we are not making any difference in this world. There are so many needs and our contribution is so small.

Have you heard the story of a boy on a beach the day after a terrible storm?  The beach was covered in starfish, washed up by the storm, and one by one the boy was throwing them back into the sea. An old man came along and laughed at the boy, telling him that he was not making much difference throwing them one by one back into the ocean. The boy picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea and replied, ‘Well it made a difference to that one.’ He understood the need of the individual. 

I have been reading a book by a missionary to Burundi, one of the most heart breaking countries on earth, torn for years by civil war, brutality, terrible poverty and disease. One day when visiting South Africa the missionary and a friend took an orphan, dying of AIDS, on a long journey to fulfill a wish to swim in the ocean. He loved it but soon after he died. Was it worth it the missionary wondered?

You bet it was.  ‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25: 40.  We may not be able to fix the world’s problems but we can make a significant difference to the life of an individual.  We can sponsor a child, we can give to charity, we can pray for individuals and churches.

If everyone did that, we may find that some of the world’s problems, especially abject poverty, surely this generation’s greatest disgrace, would be lessened.

Don't run away

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1: 12

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139: 7 – 10

All of us will go through trials and tests in our Christian walk.  Sometimes circumstances will seem to build up against us and at other times they come from our own mistakes and sin. God permits them in order that what is on the inside is exposed to us. Often it is only through difficulties that we get to see what is really in our hearts. Sometimes this is not good viewing!

Under pressure our attitudes, prejudices and beliefs come to light. It is often when things are tough that we discover what ungodly beliefs, pride, selfishness and insecurity are underneath the surface. This is not a surprise for God but can be a big surprise for ourselves. There have been times when I have been mortified by what has been exposed in my heart by the time of testing.  However this is not to make us feel bad about ourselves but to free us from sin, pride and insecurity.

The first thing that can happen though is that we want to run away and hide and we would be in good company. Adam, Elijah and Jonah all tried that one. Moses argued with God and tried to get out of an assignment that seemed to expose all his weaknesses. Our model though instead should be David. 

When caught in adultery and murder, he went straight to God and pleaded with him not to take his Spirit from him (Psalm 51). Psalm 139 written by David shows he knew you can never get away from God – even if like Jonah you run to the far side of the sea – even there God will find you and David was comforted by this. Hiding from God and other Christians in our times of weakness and testing should be the last thing we do. Instead we must press into God and seek out the company of trusted Christian friends.

God is for us, not against us.  He does not want us weighted down and hampered by sin and weakness. He wants us free from them to enjoy the fullness of his plans and purpose for our lives. The next time you stumble or feel under attack by either people who discredit you, speak unkindly of you or reject you or by the devil spinning his lies, don’t run away. Press into God’s presence. Whether the situation is of your making or by others, seek God and his comfort. Don’t try running away – it really doesn’t help. God will find us; God will have his way and we can completely trust his loving dealings in our lives the first time.   

Psalm 3

O Lord how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!

Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him”

 But you are a shield around me, O Lord

You bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

To the Lord I cry aloud and he answers me from his holy hill.

I lie down and sleep. I awake again because you sustain me.

I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.

Arise O Lord! Deliver me, O my God!

Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Psalm 3

This psalm was written by David when his son, Absalom, rose up in rebellion to try and take the throne from his father. It was treachery at the highest level; in the family, the court and the nation and David does what David always did – turned to God.

Psalm 3 is such a great encouragement to us when life and the devil comes and attacks us. It gives us a blueprint for how to deal with these assaults. First of all David states the situation; he has many foes rising against him who do not believe God will deliver him.

Then David affirms who God is; his protector, his provider and the lifter of his head – his encourager. He knows God will answer him (that is a wonderful thought to meditate on) and he can even sleep in the midst of all of this because the Lord sustains him and so he will not fear.

Finally David asks God to arise and defeat his enemies. I love the fact that he asks God to strike them on the jaw and break their teeth. If that happens you cannot talk!  It silences the enemy! David concludes that God brings deliverance and asks him to bless the people who will have got all caught up in this.

David did not accept the situation and just lay down and give up but unfortunately that is what many Christians do when they get sick, they face financial, family, work or even church problems. They accept them and give up.  David shows us the better way.

Tell God the problem as you see it. Remind yourself who God is and what he has done and will do. Then ask God to rise up and strike your enemies. We have the victory over all our enemies (who are not flesh and blood) and in Jesus Name we can resist the devil and all his works and he will flee.

God gave David strategy to defeat Absalom’s rebellion and he will do the same for us. Do not let circumstances overwhelm you; turn to God and he will arise on your behalf as you use the authority that Jesus won for us on the cross. God is our deliver and always acts on our behalf as we trust him.