Mountain Mover

Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide open spaces, he answered. God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid; who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion; I flick off my enemies like flies. Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people; Far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities. Hemmed in by barbarians, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Hemmed in and with no way out, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in; in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt. I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me. God’s my strength, he’s also my song, and now he’s my salvation. Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? “The hand of God has turned the tide! The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!” (Psalm 118:5-6)

If you have ever felt 'pushed to the wall' by a worry, hangup, hurt, or circumstance that overwhelms, you know how defenseless it can make you feel. The hardest thing is to get past how we 'feel' about it and let God take control of our defense. Truth be told, God never left your side, you just finally realize he is right there and isn't letting go. He gives you both defensive and offensive 'tools' to be able to resist the attack and stand strong when all that is happening seems to be seeking to make you weak. He is our strong companion - we need not fear ANY enemy - self-made or man-made!

We can feel rather 'hemmed in' by our habits, observing our uncanny ability to turn back to them when it seems like we just cannot resist the thoughts and remembered responses to the thing that lures us back. If you are feeling a bit 'hemmed in' right now, that habit, hurt, or hangup doesn't need to beat you. God is at your side! Your best defense? Use God's name! His name is all powerful. Have you ever had a struggle with a particular thought and just responded to that troubling thought with, "In the name of Jesus I renounce that thought/urge, and in his name, I proclaim peace in my mind, body, and spirit"? Maybe if we started using the name of Jesus to push back some of those 'habitual' ways of thinking and responding, we might just find ourselves a bit less 'defenseless'.

Right on the cliff edge and ready to fall today? God's strength is enough to grab you away from that edge. We may not have the 'self-ability' but God has the ability to move mountains on our behalf - perhaps it is time we start asking for a little 'mountain moving' in our lives. When the mountains begin to move, we may just see that God has already prepared our way out of the muddle we are in. Just sayin!

Mounting a good defense begins here

I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet. That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, the perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic. (Psalm 27:4-5)

It is not always a certainty that we find 'comfort' in the place where we dwell. Sometimes our place of dwelling is far from 'comfortable' because of who else dwells there, or the events that transpire within that dwelling. A dwelling is meant to be more than a place of 'living' - it is a space for each of us to decompress, replenish ourselves, and prepare for whatever comes next in our lives. If our 'physical dwelling' is far from perfect, we can be assured of one thing - our 'spiritual dwelling' is one place we can find all these things.

The only quiet, secure place in a crazy, mixed up world is at the feet of Jesus. It is indeed the place where we can decompress because he allows us to express exactly what we are feeling, what it is that is weighing us down, and whatever it is we have encountered in our day that we just need to let go of for a while. It isn't a physical place, but the beauty of this place is that it can be found anywhere and at any time! It is indeed a 'secure' place - removed from everything else that causes us to feel unprotected, unguarded, and not defended. 

Damage awaits us in other dwelling places - defenses are hard to maintain on our own. We are not immune unless something creates that immunity within us. Isn't that the purpose of vaccines - they introduce enough of a 'stimulant' to cause our immune system to mount a defense and be prepared to ward off the disease should we encounter it ever again. We are not immune to the enemy's attacks against us if we are trying to maintain our defenses on our own - we haven't 'mounted our defenses' enough to ward off the assault. We need the defenses God provides and those are only found as we come into the place of his dwelling. Just sayin!

In us, Around us, FOR us

There are times when we all need to hear the words that are more than 'fluff' or 'flattery' - they need to be words that will bolster our courage, increase our faith, and help to put "steel in our spines" again. No matter how hard we try, we ALL experience moments of doubt - the siege "against" us seeming to be far more prepared than our own defense. The truth is, we are often caught unaware in the moment of attack in our lives. Most of us have little to no clue of the next thing which will put us into a tailspin. As I am writing this, I am listening to the words of a song declaring our God is stronger, our God is for us, so who could stand against us or stop us. Now those are rallying words!

Hezekiah rallied the people, saying, "Be strong! Take courage! Don't be intimidated by the king of Assyria and his troops—there are more on our side than on their side. He only has a bunch of mere men; we have our God to help us and fight for us!" Morale surged. Hezekiah's words put steel in their spines. (2 Chronicles 32:6-8)

The situation: King Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, is coming against the fortified cities of Judah. His strategy: To take the city of Jerusalem as his own by whatever means was necessary to achieve it. The result: He put the fortified cities under siege. When a king puts a fortified city under siege, he is doing so because it is a stronghold and the only way to breach the stronghold is to cut off the supply routes, water, or other vital resources. It has walls of defense which makes attacking it a little more challenging than a fight of an enemy standing out in the open! Different tactics must be used to get what one wants in these types of fights. You have probably heard it said, "The best defense is a good offense." The only plan our enemy has when he sees our "walls of defense" is to attempt to isolate us from help - from those things or people that actually supply our need. As the things we need are cut-off from our use, we become weaker - making attack possible. In fact, when a walled city was encountered, the very "futility" of fighting against the "walls of defense" was a tactic to distract the enemy from even trying to attack in the first place! So, the only tactic the king would have was to keep the inhabitants so busy fighting the attacking forces that no attack would come from within the city. Distract the city long enough with the nuisances of cutting off their supplies and he'd find the "chinks" in the cities defense come to light.

This is how the enemy of our soul operates - first, he seeks to separate us from the very things and people that supply our need. Time in the Word bolsters our faith - cut this off and we grow weak, allowing doubt to enter in. Time in prayer unburdens our heart - attack here and the emotions are allowed to build to a breaking point. Words of encouragement from those who walk alongside in the battle help us to remain focused and motivated to move in the right direction - eliminate these and we walk alone, vulnerable to all kinds of attack and various steps taken in the dark. If this were not enough, he looks for the chinks in our armor, as well. The small areas left undefended in the moment of his distraction with the current skirmish at the walls of defense in our lives. These moments of distraction are all the opportunity he needs to scale the wall and begin his inroad into our stronghold - the mind! His attack begins outside of the mind - his aim is very much our mind! Why? It is not a secret to him - it is our stronghold of defense, for all we do (and even our faith) begins with thought. If he can get into our thoughts - doubts begin to form, fear begins to muster, and we begin to respond in ways we find totally out of character for us.

To those who find themselves under the siege of the enemy in their lives, I speak the words of Hezekiah: "Be strong! Take courage! Don't be intimidated by the enemy! There are more on YOUR side than on his! His power is limited! Ours is limitless - in and through our God we have more than enough to resist his siege!" The enemy of our soul seeks to distract - God says, "Keep your focus on me, not him!" He seeks to find the chinks in our defenses - God says, "Let me shore them up with my even greater defenses!" He seeks to attack the stronghold of our minds - God says, "Let me consume your thoughts!" In so doing, we actually get steel in our spines! This is the result of having both a good defense and a great offense. God in us, around us, and FOR us. Just sayin!

Invasion of the body snatchers?

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” 

(John 10:28-30 NLT)

Years ago, there was a movie entitled, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Believe it or not, that was first released in 1956 in the old black and white format! The scenes depicted a local hometown physician presented with several of his patients suffering from some form of what he believed to be paranoid delusions. These patients thought their friends and relatives were actually "imposters" of some sort. During the timeframe this movie was released, the strong suspicion that there were "extraterrestrial forms" moving about in little space ships and intent on stealing our brains was kind of popular. Now, whether you are a believer in the "alien invasion" camp, or think this is all a myth intent on keeping folks entertained, the truth of the matter is that there is a force intent on stealing our soul - the force of Satan and his demons!

While they may not be "alien forms" traveling to earth in tiny space ships, intent on stealing our brains, they are definitely at work attempting to steal our joy and keeping us from realizing our full contentment in Christ. Why? They want hell full to capacity! They don't want to burn alone! As simplistic as that seems, Satan has been intent on keeping humankind from experiencing the fullness of the grace of God from the beginning of time. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the attempts to dissuade mankind from being content in relationship with God has been the focus of Satan and his demonic forces. That said, forewarned is forearmed! If we know there are forces opposing us, we are more likely to take defensive action, aren't we?

The good news is try as he might, Satan might create a little chaos in our lives, but he will never be successful in taking us out of the arms of Jesus. That relationship is "cemented" through the blood of Jesus. The feeble attempts of Satan and his host of fallen angels are nothing compared to the strength and magnificence of grace's power! As Christ put it, we are placed into the Father's hands, and nothing is stronger than that position! The best defensive action is then to just curl up tighter into the arms of the Father! Just sayin!

My backside isn't defended very well

We have a group of people in our lives who worry about everything, don't we?  They find some disaster far, far away - totally removed from them - and worry about how it will affect them or those they love.  I was driving home the other day and caught just a little of the newscast revealing the last Ebola patient has gone home from the hospital in Liberia. Another 40 plus days and they will be declared to be Ebola free in that nation.  Then came the report of the next possible places for outbreaks, all based on their poor healthcare system and lack of sanitation in their countries.  The moment of celebration was absolutely lost when the next few seconds were dedicated to painting the ugliness of potential outbreak.  It was like saying all the hard work to eradicate it in Liberia was good, but those who are not as far along in their prevention methods will be next.  I don't think the intended purpose was to keep people from traveling, but if you are at all inclined to get a little paranoid about the possibility of contracting disease, it would certainly put a damper on your desires!  You might not ever venture out again, especially if you let your imagination carry you away into the places fear can let you go!  Herein is the dilemma each of us face every day.  We have all kinds of input into our sensory system - sight, hearing, smell, touch, and even taste.  What we choose to do with that input is entirely up to us.  We can let it in, give it a place to dwell and take root, or we can reject it as something not particularly worthy of our attention.  This is where common sense and sound judgment begin to play an important part in what we entertain in our minds, how these things will be allowed to affect us, and what we do with them once they attempt to get an inroad.  We don't need "words from on high" to tell us to avoid these things which just don't do us any good, or will steer us down a wrong path. We just need to use the common sense and good judgment God has already given us!

My child, use common sense and sound judgment! Always keep them in mind.  They will help you to live a long and beautiful life. You will walk safely and never stumble; you will rest without a worry and sleep soundly. So don’t be afraid of sudden disasters or storms that strike those who are evil. You can be sure that the Lord will protect you from harm. (Proverbs 3:21-26 CEV)

Look at the passage again - common sense and sound judgment are to be "kept in mind" - meaning their influence is mostly upon our mind.  They influence what it is we do with thought - which ultimately will effect our actions, but they are used most commonly in our thought life.  Look at the influence they can have over our thought life.  The use of common sense and sound judgment can actually help us live a long and beautiful life, not to mention helps us sleep without worry, and walk without stumbling.  Now, that is a pretty good enough reason for me to want to use both of these things in my "filtering" of what it is I let into my senses!  I don't want to stumble and I certainly value a good night's sleep. It doesn't end there - they actually give us a basis to stand upon to reject those things which would make us want to become fearful and caught up in the anxiety of life's unknowns.  

All along throughout the first couple of chapters of Proverbs, Solomon has reminded us of the importance of allowing God's Word to create a sense of direction for our lives.  We know this comes through the influence of the Spirit of God who indwells us. Whenever I think of the things God has given us to assist us in our daily walk, I like to divide them into two parts. The first are those things which help to defend us from attack, and the second are those things which we can actually use to be on the offensive (proactive) in our lives.  We need both, because one without the other actually leaves us a little "open for attack".  For example, we can have a whole lot of defensive techniques or tactics, but if we don't ever do anything proactively to stem off the attacks, we will always be in the midst of the attacks!

This is often were sound judgment and common sense come into play.  When we are prone to some particular habit, such as excessive drinking or eating, the last thing we need to do is constantly visit the bars or restaurants!  We are not exercising sound judgment when we keep putting ourselves in the places where our habits are actually nurtured!  It is no different than fighting off a hugely devastating disease such as Ebola.  In order to eradicate it, certain consistent techniques have to be employed.  Some are defensive - such as the use of the right medical treatment to cure those infected.  Others are offensive - such as teaching healthcare workers, communities, and entire countries how to avoid the spread.  One compliments the other just as common sense and sound judgment compliment each other.

When you look at the armor of a soldier, you might be surprised to see his "coverage" is really on the front side of his body.  The Kevlar vest only really covers his chest.  The helmet only covers his head.  The rest of the body is kind of exposed!  Sure, he has a rifle, pistol, knife, and maybe a few other weapons, but in general there are a whole lot of other exposed areas in his armor.  How does he protect those areas?  He has to be on the offensive as much as he can in order to be ready when he needs to be defending himself in combat! The same is true when it comes to the spiritual and emotional attacks we are under each and every day.  We need to be fully "armored", but we also need to be able to show some offensive tactics, as well.  Just sayin!

Not just a foxhole

Ever feel like your "battle" in life was more like an all-out attack? There are times when we all feel like taking one more step forward is just going to be met with a barrage of weaponry meant to mortally wound us.  We just cannot move for fear if we do our lives will be lost to the battle.  Most of us don't know the meaning of hunkering down in the depths of a foxhole (or fighting trench). The bullets whizzing by overhead, even shrapnel from shells exploding all around you, one tiny misstep into the line of fire meant you could be struck down in an instant!  What most of us don't recognize is the meaning of the foxhole - it is a place of defense!  That means it actually accomplishes something for our protection!  Instead of bemoaning your position in the foxhole, thinking you have succumb to defeat because you find yourself there, it is time to realize it is in the foxhole a good many positive things actually happen!  The foxhole actually allows a soldier to stand and fight!  He is just protecting his body in the process!

We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm. (Ephesians 6:12-13 CEV)

In modern terminology, a foxhole is termed a "defensive fighting position" and is built not all at once, but gradually.  It begins with what we might have seen in some of the earlier black and white films of military history - that shallow dugout which allowed the soldier to lay on his belly just below the line of fire. This provided a modicum of protection, but what it primarily did was allow the soldier to take time to develop this as a stronghold from which he might fight the battle with a great deal of protection.  The first step in standing against any attack in our lives is to "assume a position of protection".  This might not be physically digging a foxhole, but figuratively speaking - we do assume the position whereby we might "enlarge" our protective stance.  At first, we just duck and cover - finding it very hard to avoid all the "weaponry" of our enemy's attack.  Then in time we find our position leaves us vulnerable.  What we do next is what I think Paul had in mind when he spoke with the Ephesian church about putting on the full armor of God.

One of the things we forget is this idea of armor having two purposes - one is to defend ourselves - the other is to go on the offensive.  One is to stand strong - the other is to take on the attack with a little bit of fighting back.  Try speaking into your place of fear the next time with a strongly believed passage of scripture and see how this "weapon" of offense actually drives the fear back! At first, the tiny "dugout" protects us, but we cannot move all too well.  As we use this place of defense to shield us from the attack, we can actually "dig in" a little deeper, enlarging our place of defense over and over again until it become a full-fledged "dugout" within which we can maneuver.  Why is this significant in terms of spiritual defense?  The truth is that God wants us to have "room" to fight the attack around us.  He doesn't want us to feel like we are just barely escaping the rapid fire succession of the enemy's attacks - but we are carefully under the protective shelter of his enveloping presence.

As a member of the infantry in my younger days, I recall the instruction of our sergeant as we practiced the defensive maneuver of digging in.  What seemed like a lot of work to shield ourselves against attack also proved to be a little bit of an offensive maneuver, as well.  How so?  Well, the more we created the trench with care, we found that we could successfully control the noise which would often carry over the battlefield.  With the noise concealed in the depths of the trench, the enemy virtually did not know where we were.  They would often stumble into our waiting counter-attack without a clue they had!  The enemies we face are not too dissimilar - they may not realize the value of us drawing in, hunkering down, and settling into a defensive mode!  Instead, they see us as "not moving forward" and think they have us where they want us.  In actuality, God has the enemy moving into a position whereby he will be within the reach of our most powerful weaponry - that which will spell his ultimate defeat!

I don't know about you, but sometimes "drawing in", hunkering down, and just plain being enveloped in God's protection is the best place we can find ourselves. As we consider this place of protection, remember it is best when it is enlarged - and to be enlarged requires some effort on our part.  This is one of the things the infantry was really good at - creating places of defense!  As reinforcements came into the battle, they often found the place of defense created by the infantry as a place they might find the protection they would launch their counter-attack from.  We might want to find our "foxhole" a little more often if we'd just recognize the excellent place of defense it provides for us in the midst of the battle heating up all around us!  Just sayin!