Not This Moment

May 20, 2019 by Leave a Comment

temptation, comfort, spiritual warfareHow important can a single moment in time be?  If God is eternal and our souls were created as eternal and if we persist even after our bodies die then weighed against all eternity how much does one single moment matter?  For God, who is our eternal creator, it turns out that it isn’t so much the moments that matter but what we choose to do in those moments that make the difference.

We matter to God.  Us.  All things were created for His pleasure and we are the pinnacle of that creation story.  How we choose to spend our moments and the decisions that we make with the time that we have been given matter very much, both to God and to us.  It is all too easy to take our time for granted and to take the love and blessings that He bestows on us for granted along with it.  Unless we decide, day by day and moment by moment, to orient ourselves towards His perfect plan we will be spending our moments in vain and living a life that is so much less than it could be.

But even after we have decided to give ourselves fully to God and His way, it does not make the spending of our precious time and those finite moments any easier.  If anything, it gets even more difficult because now the powers of darkness have set themselves against us and we become soldiers under fire in a battle of spiritual warfare.  Anything and everything that the enemy can do to tempt us, distract us, discourage us or disqualify us they can and will surely do.

I don’t know about you, but I have experienced a lot of those types of moments recently.  Moments where I could literally feel the darkness pressing against my heart and my mind, screaming at me to yield and to submit to something that God would not have me do.  And my flesh, our flesh, is not strong enough to resist that kind of attack on its own.  Without the power of Christ in us in the form of His Holy Spirit we would never be able to withstand those temptations and remain victorious for God.

In one of those moments recently I was reminded of a song, by the Newsboys, called “Stay Strong”.  Here’s what the song says and why I found it to be so comforting:

You’re in the moment now
A bitter root
A wandering eye and then
The ties that bind start wearing thin, thin

You’re in the moment now
When all you’ve been blessed with
Is not enough
Here’s where the ground gets loose
Here’s where the devils call your bluff

Stay strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
There’s a new dawn to light our day, our day
You’ve gotta stay strong
You and I run
For the prize that lies ahead
We’ve come too far to lose our way, our way

We’ve seen the tragic flaws
The tortured souls
The saints with feet of clay
Here’s where sin becomes cliche’

We’ve come through wilderness and watched
The cloud by day
The burning sky into dawn
Have you forgotten who you are?
Did you forget whose trip you’re on?

Stay strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
There’s a new dawn to light our day, our day
We’ve gotta stay strong
You and I run
For the prize that lies ahead
We’ve come too far to lose our way, our way

Get up, there’s further to go
Get up, there’s more to be done
Get up, this witness is sure
Get up, this race can be won
This race can be won

We’ve gotta stay strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
Our Father’s dawn will light our day, our day
Come on and stay strong
His grip is sure
And His patience still endures
There’ll be no letting go today, no way

Come on, and stay strong
You and I run
For the prize that lies ahead
We’ve come too far to lose our way, our way

I hope that these lyrics will help and comfort you as they did me.  Our God will always grant us grace and strength to overcome all of our trials and moments of temptation.  And then we can say, “I will not yield, not this moment, not this time.  To God be the glory, great things He has done!”

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When Enemies Threaten

March 11, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Psalm 11, evil, wickedness, threatenThere seems to be a pervasive sense of unease and insecurity in our land.  It is true that we are threatened by evil men who want to do the world harm but we need spend our time being worried and anxious.  Evil men and those who threaten the righteous are not a new occurrence and good people have had to stand up to bullies (with God’s help) for all of recorded history.

In King David’s time, he and his people were similarly threatened and it is useful and instructive to look at the prayer that David offered to God in Psalms 11 as a model response to threat.

In the Lord I take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain;
 For, behold, the wicked bend the bow,
They make ready their arrow upon the string
To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
 If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”  Psalm 11:1-3 (NASB)

In the first three verses, David asks a couple of questions and makes an observation about the situation that he and his people are in.  At first we get the sense that David is responding to those who have already given up hope and who are running for the hills.  David says, (paraphrasing) “How can you ask me to give in to despair when I have chosen to trust in God’s plan and find my refuge in him?” and that is a good reminder for us as well.  There might be a time when we need to physically retreat from a situation that is dangerous or unfeasible but that doesn’t mean we do so because we have given up hope or have forgotten about God’s provision for us.

David goes on to acknowledge that his enemies were getting ready to make war (they make ready their arrow upon the string) but then asks the question that we must all ask and answer: “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

These “foundations” refer to places of security and can mean the very fabric of society.  In other words, if my people, my country and my way of life are removed from me, what is my response?

The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
 Upon the wicked He will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
 For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness;
The upright will behold His face.  Psalm 11:4-7 (NASB)

For David, his response was to look to God and to assure himself and those around him of who God is and what the fate of evil would ultimately be.  God sees and knows all that is in the hearts of men and regardless of how present circumstances might look the one who afflicts the righteous and practices evil will receive their due.  God is righteous and loves those who practice righteousness and his promise to them is that they will see His face.

Seeing the face of God implies being held close by Him such that we both feel his presence in the here and now but will also, one day, see him face to face with all barriers removed.  We are assured of God’s presence and protection and need not fear evil men or their schemes.  Continue to trust in the Lord, no matter what happens, and remember to praise Him at all times and in all seasons of life because He is worthy.

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