I'm In The Lord's Army!

Remember that fun song we probably all know from Summer Bible School and/or Sunday School? "I'm in the Lord's Army!" Just thinking about it makes me want to stand up and salute as I say: "Yes, Sir!" I remember my kids marching to its tune and doing the best they could to pretend to be soldiers...

O boy...the truth is, I honestly don't know anything about being a soldier. Nobody in my family has ever served in the military. In Dan's family, only a couple of uncles served, but it was such a long time ago and we see them so very rarely, that it is not a topic of conversation that ever comes up. Neither it is something that comes up in casual conversations with our friends who have served. So, I really don't have a clue what it is like to be a soldier. I have no clue what it really feels like. I'm so removed from that entire reality of life that my only knowledge comes from the occasional rom-com movie here and there which might portray a person in uniform.

At any rate...why am I pondering these things, you may ask...well...yesterday at church and all around me lately, really, thoughts of putting on the full Armor of God in reference to Ephesians 6: 10-18 have been surrounding me. And that got me thinking how I really don't know the first thing of how to go about it...and that got me thinking it is probably because my frame of reference is so limited. Then, this morning, I read 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and something began to click.  

In this portion of scriptures, King Jehoshaphat of Judah defeats Moab and Ammon.  King Jehoshaphat is one of the Kings in the long succession of rulers after David, whose throne was in Jerusalem, but who faced a divided Israel and the constant sin and idolatry of God's people which often caused their defeat and state of separation from the One True King, the Almighty God. In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat gets word that his enemies are coming to wage war against him with vast armies, and are getting nearer. Then, to my surprise, instead of approaching the problem filled with false pride and overconfidence, or instead of calling all his allies to muster a potentially bigger and more powerful army, or instead of trying to appease the the enemy, or instead of consulting the hundreds of false prophets of Baal and other idols, Jehoshaphat, in his distress and concern actually resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. (2 Chronicles 20: 3-4)

WOW! Mind-blowing!

The first...the very first thing King Jehoshaphat did as soon as he heard about the imminent threat was to turn his eyes to the One True God...to inquire, to fast and to pray! And he didn't do it alone. He urged his entire Kingdom to do the same and they followed his example! How marvelous! Finally a King that knows what to do!!

Listen to his prayer:

“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 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 on you.” (2 Chronicles 20: 6-12)

There is so much in this prayer that it would take days to unpack...and maybe we should and will...but today, what hits me hard is the King's humility in recognizing that they are powerless without the Almighty. He cries out in the middle of the distress of all of his kingdom, and trusts that the Lord will deliver them. I particularly love verse 12 when he admits that they have "no power to face this vast army that is attacking us." And they "do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." 

Isn't that the key, here? We don't know what to do...BUT...our eyes are on You, Lord, because the only thing we do know is that You are the ONLY ONE who can deliver us from whatever enemy is attacking us.  Our eyes are on You! That is the ONLY WAY to win. I don't know anything about going into battle.  I don't know the first thing about putting on my uniform or handling weapons. I have no clue how to go on the defense or offense. All I know is that I must keep my eyes on the One Who Knows. The instant I take my eyes off Him...I've already lost.

So, regardless of how impressive the enemy may seem...or how inadequate we may feel about our ability to fight it, or how poor our chances seem to be...or of how little we know about going into battle, we know what to do: pray. Go to the Lord in prayer and fix your sight on Him. Paul tells us that too, and I never really noticed it until today. In Ephesians 6: 18 right after he gets done giving us what I always thought was the last instruction on putting on the Armor of God, Paul tells us the one thing that will assure our victory in this world and the next: pray. 

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6: 18

I'm in the Lord's Army! Yes, Sir!

And before I get deployed into a battlefield for which I am not prepared, I'm going to make sure I get ready by letting my knees hit the ground as my eyes search the Heavens. In the Precious Name of Jesus, the One Who Goes Before Us...it is His battle, and we trust His Mighty Hand. Amen!

Reflections on the Book Winning the War on Worry

Do you work out? Well, congratulations! I admire you! Because I do not. I try to walk. I've been pretty good at keeping up with my daily walks, but, often, the weekend comes or something disrupts my routine so a few days go by without walking, and when I try to get back on the treadmill, it  feels as if I have to start all over again from zero. I mean, really? Why is that? I guess the name of the game when it comes to staying active is consistency. I have a hard time staying consistent with anything. I'm lazy and I quickly go back to my default: inactivity. 

I notice this tendency not only in my "workout" routine or lack of thereof, but also in other areas of my life. For instance, finishing a book on helping me get my worry under control. I have left the book behind instead of finishing it, and instead of being consistently applying the principles in the book...I have forgotten and gone back to what I always do: worry.

Today, for instance, has been a day of worry.  I'm worrying about medical test results. I'm worrying about my sons. I'm worrying about work. I'm worrying about the future. Worry, worry, worry...I worry I'm forgetting the lessons of this book and how I spent a good amount of time reflecting on the 4 lies of the enemy which fuel our worry...and that I'm falling back into my default: worry.

Well, I decided to take the book and read a few more pages, and this quote called my attention: "fighting back against worry is like any other training regime or discipline." There is the problem! Like with any other training regime, I lack consistency and I forget. My lazy nature gets me back to what I'm used to, so when I attempt to get back on the treadmill of training to fight worry, I feel like I have to start from the beginning again...and it is exhausting. But I have to do it. I don't want to spend my entire life worrying about what could happen. I want to feel reassured that no matter what happens, God IS GOOD! I want to rest in the knowledge that God takes care of me in every situation, and that Heaven is the goal...eternity with Jesus is my victory!

"God is Loving, Kind, Mighty in Power, Holy, Healer.  He is, and because of that truth, I can have assurance no matter what comes against me." (page 12)

So tonight, I drop my worries at the foot of the cross and I pray for consistently trusting that God is who He says He is! And that I am His Child...His Daughter...and that He is going to deliver me from worry and carry me to a place of peace, where I can consistently trust Him and put my Hope in Him who is HOPE! In Christ Name I pray.  Amen!