FEAR NOT!

 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

God calls each of us to engage in spiritual warfare at times. Whenever satan wants to come against one of God’s children, he does so by trying to intimidate through fear. Goliath’s formidable size and arrogant boasting intimidated Saul and Israel’s army. And because God’s anointing had fallen from Saul, he was unable to respond with courage to Goliath’s charge. Fear paralyzes and torments. That is why Saul could not respond.

The anointing had fallen on David, who was just a young boy, but mighty in spirit. David did not cower at the size or shouts of the giant Goliath. He saw Goliath through the eyes of God, who saw him as a mere speck. David had righteous indignation for an affront to the armies of the living God.

David did not weigh the risk of failure because his faith was resting totally in God. That is another important factor in overcoming fear-complete trust in God. When the Lord began training me to confront fear, the training grounds were a groundless lawsuit, intimidation, and calamity that confronted my very existence. Learning that these were merely tactics of the enemy, designed to instill fear, allowed me to stand firm in God’s power to overcome.

Do not fear sudden calamity if you are walking uprightly before God. It may be setting the stage for a great victory that will bring praise and honor to your heavenly Father. These battles are training grounds for greater victories to come.

SEEING WHAT OTHERS CANNOT SEE

 “And Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17

Several years ago, a movie was made called Field of Dreams. The story is about a man who had a vision to build a baseball field in the middle of a cornfield on his rural farm. He did not know why; he just knew he was to do it. To the chagrin of his neighbors, he built the baseball diamond in the farm community. One night some players showed up. The man realized these were no ordinary players, but were actually the great players from the past. When the skeptical neighbors came to view this phenomenon, they were unable to see what the farm owner could see. This made it even worse for him. Now he was really a lunatic in their eyes.

This fictitious story has a spiritual application for us. First, if God tells us to “build a ball field,” we should do it. It is not for us to determine the reason we are instructed to do it. Once we are obedient, God will allow us to see what others cannot see. It is the rite of passage for those who are willing to risk all for God’s purposes. God increases the spiritual senses to levels we never knew before. Those around us will observe this.

Do you want to see what others cannot see? If so, it will require a level of obedience that will go beyond human reason. It may require risk and ridicule from others. But you will see what others cannot see.

HOW AND WHERE GOD SPEAKS

 “The hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, ‘Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.'” Ezekiel 3:22

God speaks in many different ways to His children. He spoke through a bush to Moses. He spoke through a donkey to Balaam. He spoke through prophets to His kings. He speaks through other believers. He speaks directly to us through the invisible Holy Spirit. And He speaks even through circumstances.

When God wants to speak a very important word directly to us without interruption from the noise of our busy lives, he will take us “into the plain.” The plain is a place of no distractions and no other persons. It is a place of silence. It can be a place of great need, as it often fails to have the normal provisions we are accustomed to. It can be a place we go to voluntarily to seek His face, or we can be moved there without choice by His supernatural ability. More often, it is the latter method that brings us into the plain. In modern times, it often means a separation from our normal activities, such as jobs or families.

The plain can also be a place where we discover afresh that God’s hand has been on us all the time. When we are so busy with life, we sometimes forget that God’s hand is still there, gently leading our path. When our lives get so busy that we are not listening or responding to His gentle touch, He must take more aggressive measures to get our attention. Thus, the plain is one of those appointed times of one-on-one communication with our heavenly Father. No distractions, no people, no beautiful surroundings to capture our thoughts. It is a barren place designed to allow us to seek and hear clearly. When He speaks, we need to be able to listen. We hear much better in the plain.

Do you need to hear God’s voice today? Is your life such that you cannot even hear His voice? Each day God calls us to our own mini-plain in order to speak to us and for us to hear. If we neglect this time of open communication, we may be invited to His plain in order to hear without distraction. Pray that you might make time to hear.

DAVID'S ARMOR

 “David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.’ So he took them off.” 1 Samuel 17:39

David, the young shepherd boy, heard the challenge from the Philistines to send someone to fight Goliath. No one volunteered to fight except David. King Saul reluctantly agreed and offered David his armor. David put on the weighty equipment, but quickly concluded he could not fight in this heavy armor.

God equips each of us in such a way that is unique to our strengths and abilities. David was trained as a shepherd to use another weapon. For David, it was a slingshot. David showed great maturity in realizing he could not be effective with Saul’s armor. What are the gifts and talents God has given to you? Have you ever tried to accomplish a task with tools you were not trained to use? God allows each of us to develop skills that are unique to our life. He will not call you to use someone else’s tools.

However, this is only half of the equation. These talents must be mixed with faith. Talent alone is not enough. Faith alone is not enough. It is only when the two are combined that God’s power is released and manifested in the physical realm. Mix your unique gifts with faith today; you will be surprised at the power of God that will be manifested.

WORK TO PLAY, WORK TO ACQUIRE

 “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do”(John 17:3-4).

A popular TV commercial comes on the screen, raising the question of why the viewer works long hours while showing beautiful pictures of a luxurious car. The message was clear. We work in order to acquire.

Another TV commercial comes on showing beautiful aqua blue ocean waves and an attractive couple lounging on the white sandy beaches. “Come to Jamaica says the voice.” The message from this commercial is that a vacation to Jamaica is the ultimate reward for your work.

There are many motivations for work. Some might say it is simply to put food on the table. George Barna, the American researcher on religious habits, found disturbing results from his study on the motivations of many Christians in American society. “We are not a society that simply enjoys its time off. We are driven by our leisure appetites. It is increasingly common to hear of people turning down job offers because the hours or other responsibilities would interfere with their hobbies, fitness regimens, and other free-time activities. Even our spending habits show that playing has become a major priority. The average household spends more money on entertainment than it does clothing, health care, furniture, or gasoline.”

His study also found that many people define success in surprisingly non-Christian terms: He found that 66% of Americans define success in life as the acquisition of sufficient money, education, material possessions, or career prestige; only 7 percent related success to their faith condition and its influence upon their life. “The Christian Church has stagnated, largely due to its comfort with routines and rituals that are neither challenging nor relevant for millions of people,” said Barna.*

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Why do I work?”

Jesus had a work to do that was given to Him by His Heavenly Father. You too, have a work you are called to do. Ask God to give you a renewed sense of the work you are called to do today.

*George Barna, Boiling Point, Regal Books, Ventura, CA p. 223, 2001

THE PLACE OF OBEDIENCE

 “Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.” Acts 9:8a

There is a place of obedience for all of us. For Paul, it was being struck blind on the Damascus road. God literally knocked him off his horse with a blinding light. A voice from Heaven asked Paul why he was persecuting Him (Jesus). When Paul arose, he could not see. Jesus told him to go to Damascus and meet a man named Ananias. There, Jesus restored Paul’s sight through Ananias.

Each of us has a place of obedience. For some, it requires only a nudge of pressure to gently lead us toward God. For others of us, a lightning bolt is necessary to get our undivided attention. Many who are hard-hearted rebel against the living God. Yet God’s love for these individuals is so great that He takes extreme measures to gain their attention-and their hearts. When you come in contact with people like this, do not fear their arrogance. Instead, see them as God sees them-as people who need the Savior and who could be a powerful force in the Kingdom if God saved them. It is a sign to begin praying for them.

We’ve all heard the saying, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” In many cases this is true. God has called many hard cases into His Kingdom through miraculous circumstances in order to save their lives from the pit of hell and transform them into a sweet-smelling fragrance. Do not let the hard exterior fool you. These are needy people who are crying out for help in their own prideful way. Whenever God begins this process in the life of a sinner, He has others standing by to assist. Ananias was the person in Paul’s life. He found it unbelievable that Paul really could have been saved. An angel had to convince him. Has God placed such an individual in your path? Perhaps God desires to use you to be an “Ananias” in the life of one of His wayward children. To do so requires a willingness to come alongside that one who needs your help. Who knows, that person could be the next apostle Paul.

THE POWER OF INFLUENCE

 “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel”(Phil 1:12-13).

Have you ever heard these statements: “Money talks.” Or how about this: “He who has the gold, rules.” Both of these statements have truth in them.

When Jesus was crucified, there was a question as to where Jesus would be buried. Those that hurried him to the cross designed that he should make his grave with the wicked; but God designed he should make it with the rich (Isa 53:9), and so he did.

In order for Jesus to be buried with honor, a man of influence was permitted to take the body of Jesus. His name was Joseph of Arimathea. It seems this man had a personal relationship with Pilate. He was a man of influence and owned a burial cave that was reserved for the rich.

Joseph of Arimathea was called an honorable counselor, a person of character and distinction, and in an office of public trust; some think in the state, and that he was one of Pilate’s privy council; his post rather seems to have been in the church, he was one of the great Sanhedrim of the Jews, or one of the high priest’s council.*

The Bible says that He desires His people to be the head, not the tail. If we are to influence the culture, there must be men and women of influence in whom God uses to impact the culture. If you are a successful person, consider the words of Paul when he said, “…what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” Although Paul was referencing adversity in this statement, it can be equally said that each of us needs to ask if our prosperity has served to advance the gospel.

Are you using your influence to impact your workplace, city, or even nation for the sake of the gospel?

*(from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)