The Holy Spirit calls to me this morning. My heart is heavy for various reasons. The circumstances in our nation have caused many to lose hope. Hope deferred makes the heart sick and as I look around and hear my fellow citizens, I realize the truth in that proverb.
The Holy One sends me to His word and asks, "So what does the next part of that proverb say?" From out of His wisdom, I find the answer:
Proverbs 13:12. "But when (when, not if) desire comes, it is a tree of life".
As a follower of Yeshua and one who trusts in the plans and purposes of Yehoveh, the one true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I return to the OT and the history of our sister nation, Israel.
When looking for hope, the stories and accounts of victory are all throughout the OT and many are very uncommon to our human "right" mind thinking.
I remember a day when all Israel were shaking in their boots because of the threats being hurled at them by a fierce warrior by the name of Goliath. A brave but young shepherd stepped onto the stage in Israel's defense and the story of David and Goliath was written.
One young man with faith, courage and a personal relationship with Israel's God brought down the threat, not with conventional weapons of war but with a sling and a stone.
King Saul's armor didn't fit and I can only imagine the thoughts running through the minds of the mighty seasoned men of war when they saw young David go out to face the giant with his sling and stone.
It's been said that Goliath's armor covered his huge body and all his vulnerable areas were protected EXCEPT a 1 inch square under his helmet right between his eyes (forehead).
As David swung his sling it gathered velocity and when he let the stone fly to it's target, the Lord directed the kill shot to that 1 inch square place of vulnerability and brought the giant down.
The point that I take away from the ancient account of this uncommon deliverance of Israel is to be careful in our thoughts or judgements as to how our Almighty God might take out our enemy.
Let us remain focused in unity that:
A. We need deliverance.
B. Only our Adonai has the power greater than those who have been installed to oppress us.
C. His ways of rescue might not look like we might imagine in our human "right" mind. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours.
As we nit-pick and judge someone else's hope, we nit-pick and judge how and by what means we might be delivered. That can set us up to miss the miracle of Divine intervention as it unfolds. God's Divine strategy for winning a war and delivering His people has been unconventional and uncommon over the course of Israel's history.
A young man with a sling and stone.
An army reduced in size from 30,000 to 300.
Impenetrable walls of a fortified city falling down at a strategic moment.
Who in their human "right" mind would honestly expect to see fire fall on a water soaked altar? Or a meteor hit a place called Sodom and Gomorrah at a predetermined moment after a visit from supernatural beings? Or an earthquake to collapse a thick city wall at the sound of a Shofar?
Who in their human "right" minds would honestly expect for the water of a great sea to part? Who in their human "right" mind would expect 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed and satisfy 5000+ people?
Adonai has countless ways to rescue and protect the righteous as He goes about His Sovereign business "to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wickedness" when the cup of His indication is timed to pour out over those guilty in the shedding of innocent blood and the persecution, even murder of those trying to defend it. Isaiah 26:20-21.
We who are of the faith must never put our Lord in a box or doubt His uncommon way of bringing about our deliverance. We must not allow those who may have a difference of opinion as to the method or manner of a God-ordained miracle to discourage our faith in the Mysterious One who is the source of them all. May we, the people of faith, stand firm and watch without preconceived notions as to how our Majestic God will save us and our republic from all our enemies, foreign or domestic.
The Spirit is calling Can you hear Him?
