Category Archives: Hearing from God

Going to War

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This morning I met with my prayer group in our weekly effort to bring 200+ requests to God for his answers. Because we make an effort get the job done before morning moves into afternoon, we try to be efficient, though never sacrificing Spirit-led diversions from having their way.

We categorize according to illnesses, revival, church concerns, career problems, missions, community services, and more. We also pray for our government and for the military, including any in our congregation on active duty.

Soldiers in combat

This morning as one of the ladies prayed about war zones and soldiers, my thoughts wandered to that familiar old aphorism, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” It originated in the 1940’s and implies that everyone who finds themselves under extreme stress will seek the help of a higher power.

Army rucksacks used to include pocket New Testaments as an encouragement toward that higher power, but in recent years they’ve been eliminated. Maybe there just isn’t room anymore, with everything else a soldier has to carry:

  • rifleMilitary rucksack
  • ammo
  • food rations
  • water canteens
  • batteries
  • body armor
  • helmet
  • first aid kit
  • grenades
  • notebook & pen
  • maps
  • 2-way radio
  • compass
  • GPS
  • flak jacket
  • gloves
  • ear plugs
  • goggles
  • weapon cleaning kit
  • book of local language

And that’s just the first 20 items. Depending on the mission, there might be many more. The goal is to protect our fighting men and women as thoroughly as possible, although the weight of these supplies often reaches 100 pounds.

But what if a soldier said, “All that stuff just weighs me down, so my plan is to leave it behind when I go into battle. I’ll be able to run faster and stay energized longer without that extra 100 pounds, which is a more sensible way to fight.”

We’d all argue against that, but in life’s spiritual battles, for those of us waging war against temptations every day, we often do exactly that. Ephesians 6 details a supply list that offers sure protection:

  • belt of truth
  • body armor of God’s righteousness
  • shoes prepared with the gospel of peace
  • shield of faith
  • helmet of salvation
  • sword of the Spirit
  • the Word of God

When we lose a battle, we should immediately take inventory of our fighting gear. Did we forget to bring (or purposely leave behind) our protective equipment?

Camoflage New Testament

It’s a shame New Testaments have been eliminated from standard military supply, though the 20+ items soldiers do carry are sure to help them. But for those of us not currently in the military, it’s that same New Testament that contains the only effective supply list that will help us conquer our enemies day-to-day.

And it weighs far less than 100 pounds.

“We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Zzzzz

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Eeeeee'sDespite my habit of blogging late at night, I usually don’t fall asleep on the job. Usually. The other night, however, my head dropped and I was gone, fingers resting on the keyboard. Twelve pages of eee’s later, I awoke and laughed at the result of my black-out, glad no one had seen me.

Today on the news I heard the story of a fellow keyboard-sleeper. A bank employee in Germany had arrived at work short on sleep, but his listless condition didn’t keep him from having an exciting day. While making a routine bank transfer of 64.40 Euros ($82.89 in US dollars), he fell asleep mid-transfer with a finger resting on the 2-key. As his brain was in zzzz-mode, his computer made a transfer of $222,222,222.22.

That was one expensive nap. His bogus transaction (which slipped past his wide-awake supervisor) cost his boss his job and the mess that resulted ended up in court.

All of us need to stay alert through our days and years. If we don’t, the consequences will be far more serious than multiple computer screens of letters and numbers. It’s no surprise Scripture details examples of when and why to stay alert. Here are 10 of them:

  • so we won’t be seduced by money
  • so we’ll identify God’s answers to our prayers
  • so we won’t use our tongues in hurtful ways
  • so we’ll make wise choices when they come to us
  • so we’ll recognize temptation when it hits
  • so our hearts won’t become dulled by the world
  • so we won’t allow bitterness to take root
  • so we’ll recognize Satan when he gets too close to us
  • so we’ll notice how God is moving in our lives
  • so we’ll be ready when Jesus returns to get us

Our lives will look quite different if we swap watchfulness for dozing, and the scriptural David is an example of this. He made all kinds of senseless decisions without being alert to the consequences and had to back-peddle later on. But in a passage from 2 Samuel, he explains his new resolve to stay alert and do things right, from that point on:

“God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I cleaned up my act, he gave me a fresh start. Indeed, I’ve kept alert to God’s ways; I haven’t taken God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works, I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.” (22:21-25, The Message)

Eeee's

The good news is that any of us can follow David’s lead by making up our minds to stay alert…. which even includes time in front of a computer screen.

“Make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don’t forget anything of what you’ve seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live.” (Deuteronomy 4:9, The Message)

Eye-Rolling

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Garage shelvesI remember the days when one or more of my children would say, “Where is my such-and-such?” I might answer with something like, “Try the basement.” (Or garage, or yard.) But like clockwork they’d quickly return saying, “Nope. Not there.”

Knowing it was, I’d send them back again, maybe with another clue. “Look about chest-high. I think I saw it there.”

But more often than not, they’d reappear. “Un-uh. Still not there.”

So I’d roll my eyes, march to the spot where the item was, put my hand right on it and say, “See? Exactly where I said it was.”

“Oh….” he/she would say. “I was looking for a box, but it was in a bag.” Or, “I was looking on the floor, but was on a shelf.” In other words, “It’s not my fault.”

Sometimes I act the same toward God. I ask a question, and he answers by giving me helpful information, like where to find peace or maybe security, or courage. But rather than carefully following his instructions I say, “Doing that doesn’t seem like it’ll bring peace.” Or, “Relying on that won’t make me feel secure.” Or, “Just believing words can’t give me courage.”

Surely God must roll his eyes. “Look where I’m telling you to find it, and you’ll find it.”

With my kids, the problem was they didn’t really want to look. Instead they wanted me to stop what I was doing, lead them to the item they were pretending to look for, and hand it directly to them. Watching this happen repeatedly produced plenty of frustration in me, exactly as it must for God when I become that same immature child.

So how can these seek-and-find scenarios be improved? What’s missing? First and foremost, a listening ear. When parents tell their children where to find something, the kids aren’t really listening to the details. They’re hoping for a quick fix, a way to get what they want without putting forth personal effort. Sadly, I’m the same way.

When I’m seeking self-control, for example, or love, or patience, God describes how to find them, but his directions usually include action at my end, and that’s both disappointing and discouraging in the moment. I want it right away and without effort. When it isn’t forthcoming, I run back to him and whine. “Nope. I don’t have it! It’s not there!”

He tells me again (and maybe again) what I must do to secure what I’m wanting, but I don’t succeed unless I “look” where he points and move in that direction. I know the Lord views us as his children, a privileged place to be. But on this issue, I want to act less like a child and more like the mature believer he hopes I will someday become.

“If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” (Proverbs 18:13)