"See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession
you gave us as an inheritance. O our God, will you not judge them?
For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not
know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. All the men of Judah, with their wives
and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord."
2 Chronicles 20:11-12
Sometimes things happen that seem so bad we lose our focus on God as we wallow in feelings of helplessness and anger. We feel small and powerless and so we just shrug our shoulders and walk away in frustration...
- as if that must be the end
- as if God doesn't care
- as if God was caught off guard and couldn't stop it
- as if our powerlessness somehow became God's
There is just such a situation in my hometown right now. I will write more about that in future blogs, but for now I want to point out several things that God is making me see.
I was surprised - God was not. I already know this. I just needed to remember it.
I focused on a person - this is spiritual warfare. We are wrong and we will lose the battle if we ever see it as anything other than a spiritual one.
Anger and blustery words and accusations will not remedy this situation. We are called to respond in love. That does not mean wimpy! We can be firm, decisive AND loving. We are to reflect God and his love for the world as we deal with the world.
It begins with me. The first thing I must do is ask forgiveness for being complacent. I have not been vigilant. I have lots of company but that's hardly an excuse! I have no right to address any spiritual problem without first allowing God to address mine. He is doing that and it's not at all comfortable!
Any response must be grounded in prayer. We say it, give lip service to it, but if you're like me, you want to respond in some kind of emotion-fueled frenzy, thinking that you don't have time to stop and pray. Funny, but I seem to have had lots of time to NOT pray...
In God's hands, this situation could be a catalyst for Christians to wake up and renew their commitment to God and serving him in the community. Have we become so used to the political rhetoric and legal decrees that we throw our hands up and say "what can we do - that's the law?"
Fear rules. For all of our beliefs that God is with us and will be victorious in the end, we - I - am reluctant to step out, step up, STAND UP, and speak God's truth. I hate fear. I hate being afraid and wimpy - and I am, all the time.
It can change today. God is ready and waiting. Am I? Yes. Am I scared of what this might mean? Yep. Will I ask God to help me overcome my fear? Yes. Does that scare me? Oh yeah!
The scripture I chose for today is one that I love. The picture of a strong king standing before the Lord and leading all of his people to do the same is breath taking. They were under the threat of an advancing army and they STOOD STILL AND WAITED for the Lord. They did not know what to do, so they waited before the Lord.
That is what I'm going to do now. There are several scenarios running around in my head, but I haven't stood before the Lord for his direction. I will be doing that in the days and weeks to come, and sharing with you as I take this journey. I want this to be God's agenda, not mine.
Do you have a situation that requires you to wait for God because you don't know what to do? Let's pray for one another. That's where it all starts and where the victory is won.
I have prayed for you today.
Sherri
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