*Dan is away for a summer sabbatical – a time of rest, rejuvenation and reverence. Please enjoy one of our favorite Friday Fragments. This Fragment was initially published on June 29, 2018.
Welcome back, dear friend. I’m looking forward to being with you soon. There’s always been something very special about you, but this year, more than ever, I wait to embrace you with renewed urgency and need.
Rest has been elusive this past eleven months. I’ve been consistently in the classroom of trust and faith, and at times needing remedial work.
Doubt, worry, frustration, fear have all pressed into my heart and mind in unrelenting ways. “What if” has declared war against “But, God”.
Any illusion that Satan plays fair has been long since dispelled.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12, ESV)
God warned me. I know that the forces of evil are dirty and nasty. Body punches when my gloves are down. Chaos when I expected calm.
Interrupted sleep. Grueling days.
God said it would be so… but God not only warned, He equipped. No toy pistols or water balloons. This is war, and my arsenal is robust.
Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. (Ephesians 6:13-18, Message)
July. A flip of the page, and a stake in the ground. I plan to make ready my armor. I commit to pray hard and long. For brothers and sisters. For sons and daughters. For mission and message. For weary warriors. For discouraged gladiators.
I will extinguish the fires of fear. I will pursue rest, and reflection. I will meditate on God’s Word and I will pray spontaneously and vigorously. I won’t be in the office, but I will be engaged in the most important of all work.
July. I exit June with confession, and I enter July with renewed commitment. There is no weapon of man, or no scheme of Satan that can withstand the onslaught of God.
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18–19, ESV)
A mismatch. No match. Satan’s gates don’t stand a chance and so we attack… in humble stewardship of the unfettered weapons of war.
July. Regrouping, not retreating. A commitment. A promise.
Our Living Hope.
July.
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