“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with a sword and a spear and javelin, but I come against you in the NAME of the LORD ALMIGHTY, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the WHOLE WORLD WILL KNOW that it is NOT by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the BATTLE IS THE LORD’S, and He will give all of you into our hands.’ ” (1Samuel 17: 45-47)
In the past I have begged God to make me into a greatly muscled, spiritual giant; to make my life so “super strong” that Satan and all his hosts couldn’t touch me! I studied God’s Word, prayed and even fasted on many occasions, went to Church each week, took several spiritual-building classes, read many Christian books, and really did study hard to DO ALL the RIGHT THINGS to get me into the “SPECIAL FORCES’ (Romans 9). Months and years passed and I waited expectantly to be called up into the higher ranks, or to the frontline because I presumed I was READY for any battle that God could call me to. In fact, the bigger I thought the battle, the more my arms would wave about to get God’s attention: “Here I am God, send me! I can do it, I want to do it!” Do you ever wonder if God is BLIND to the fact that you have GRADUATED from boot-camp; that you’re NOT in TRAINING anymore?
One day, I was studying Ephesians 6 and Holy Spirit used the verses 10-18 to tell me that God DID HEAR me and that He DID KNOW where I was and how ready I was. The words seemed to say, “BE STRONG IN HIS LOVE and IN THE POWER OF HIS GRACE.” As I pondered this thought, I realized that the strength of God is LOVE; the whole armor of God is LOVE, and the wisdom of God to use it is LOVE. I had not realized that the “battle or crisis” isn’t the end in itself. A crisis does NOT build something within us; it simply REVEALS WHAT WE ARE MADE OF ALREADY (Proverbs 24:10). God revealed to me that my daily surroundings have been engineered by Him and how I react in, or to them are my “spiritual-building nutrients.”
Each day God places me in situations, or around individuals that REALLY STRETCH my spiritual muscles. There have been MANY times that my TRUE COLORS begin bleeding to the surface through my façade of self-righteousness. I’ve often heard that the NEGATIVES we see in someone else are really the reflection of your own character; I believe this to be true. Holy Spirit scrubs away our DELUSIONS of GRANDEUR and EXPOSES our nakedness and need for the covering of God’s mercy and grace!
If I am to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, I will be made a disciple supernaturally. Jesus told His disciples that they were to tarry until they were ENDUED WITH POWER from on High (Acts 1: 4-9). It is Holy Spirit who recreates my heart muscle by filling it with God’s LOVE. He breathes in LOVE’S ability to use words that are filled with power (Matthew 12: 33-37). Out of the abundance of this NEW HEART of LOVE, I cannot speak words of bitterness, arrogance, anger, malice, envy, etc. As with David, I come with God’s Words and no human being has a shield that can protect them from words burning with God’s LOVE (1Corinthians 13).
At present, I continue to train in God’s boot-camp. God brings new and daily exercises to strengthen and bring definition to the muscles of this body. I have come to accept that He is my personal Trainer and He has me right where I am for His overall plan. Sometimes, I do get called up to the front lines and I go willingly, knowing it is in His LOVE and GRACE that I will find my strength.
My question this week: “What shape are you in; who is your personal trainer?”
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