Monday, November 28, 2011

God's Holy Hand Grenade


We are in a battle. It is around us, it concerns us, it involves us, and it impacts us. The Church is in the midst of that battle and every follower of Christ is being attacked on a daily basis. Our souls are the prize being fought for. It is an external battle but it is an internal one, and eternal one, as well. Some days we serve on one side and other days we may find ourselves serving on the other. We can, at times, be our own worst enemy!

Sounds a tad confusing, I admit; a little disturbing, for sure; and very frustrating, without a doubt.

You know what I mean, don't you, this battle that is going on and that involves you and me? It's the one where you feel pulled in directions that you know you should not go. It's over your thoughts and desires and attitudes and possessions. It includes your family, your friends, your job, even your church - most definitely your church. The world is both the battle ground and part of the army that is against us. Certainly it is a physical battle but it is also political, social, emotional, and psychological; and you can probably add a few more "...al's" into the mix. But above all, this warfare is against enemies in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 6:10-18). The weapons we use need to be, first and foremost, spiritual in nature (also see 2 Corinthians 10:3-6). And as Paul alludes to in both these passages, we need to be aware of and unitize these weapons in the battles we face in our lives. If we do not, we lose the battle.

But here is an important truth to keep in mind: even though we have these weapons at our disposal, and we are to equip ourselves and use these spiritual weapons, we also have need to have the confidence (trust/faith) that, because we are in Christ, we fight a battle that  has already been won! Christ has already been victorious, and he fights along with us in the battles we face. We are never alone!

I was reminded of this fact as I read Joshua 6. The process involved for victory by Israel was a convoluted one, bizarre by military standards. No leader of an army would go about preparing and approaching battle in this way! Which just goes to show, again, that God's ways are not our ways, and that we need to trust God in the battles and situations in our lives. We prepare ourselves, as the Israelites did, by listening to God's "word" and commands, and through obedience to God. Any other way brings failure, even if we make it through our "battle" on our own, because we have been disobedient, have been selfish, have placed ourselves in the role of God, and that, in a nutshell, is sin.  

Another thing that strikes me in this story that I need to remember is that, just as victory comes through the Lord, all glory must also go to the Lord. It's easy to take credit for something that I had little to do with, even though I may think that I gave a whole lot of effort in the task. When I start thinking, "I got through this," or "I pulled this thing off," then I have lost focus on the Author and Perfector of my faith and have placed myself above my Lord and Savior. Once I start doing that, my fall can be pretty hard! Truth is, I've fallen hard too many times because I kept looking at the wrong thing, myself.

Having faith in the victory that Christ has secured, being obedient to God's Word and Christ's commands, being equipped for "battle" with the weapons God has provided us, keeping our focus on God, and giving God the glory, are all key to experiencing the victory in our lives that God has made available to us through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 1:17-23)

On a side note, and a slightly skewed one at that, as I read the instructions given to Joshua in this passage, who, in turn reiterated those instructions to the army and the people, I couldn't help but be reminded of a scene in the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Read through those instructions again, then, for your viewing pleasure, give this a watch.

No comments: