victory

Delight in the Lord- Psalm 37

I’ve been going through a bit of a trial lately. Without going into too much detail, I’ve basically been accused of willfully and knowingly deceiving a certain group. This came as a shock to me since I was as open and honest as possible with this group of people and always strived to be communicative and compliant with anything asked of me. Not only has it been difficult being called a liar, but there are potential financial ramifications involved. Needless to say, I was a bit stressed, frustrated and angry when this all started. However, I was able to prepare my case and make a defense before my accusers. Then I had to wait for the results. Waiting was the hard part because I kept going over the conversation in my head. Did I say everything I should have? Was my defense strong enough? Then I found out I missed the results letter and had to wait another day to get it. Instead of being patient and trusting the Lord, I let the stress and anger in my flesh come out against those who love me the most. When I confessed my sin and asked for forgiveness, I received this Scripture as a word of encouragement:

“Delight yourself in the Lord;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light

And your judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath;

Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.”

Psalm 37:4-8 (NASB)

While the journey isn’t over with this situation, I needed this reminder that the Lord is just and knows those who are His. Even if I don’t see how things turn out now, I know the end result: the Lord justifies the righteous and punishes the wicked. That truth will never change. My hope and trust should always be in Him no matter what the world tries to do. It is only victorious when I turn away from the Lord and listen to what it says about me. Rather, my focus should be that the Creator of the universe cares so much about me that He knows everything about what I’m going through and what the outcome will be. This Scripture illustrates that my actions ought to be directed towards God, not the world: 

I am to delight in Him. 

I am to commit my way to Him. 

I am to rest in Him. 

I am to wait patiently for Him. 

He will take care of the rest. It is my human, fleshly nature that wants to control everything about my life, thinking that I know better than the Lord. But in fact, I am one in Spirit with Him (John 17: 20-21; 1 Corinthians 6:17). Isn’t that amazing?! Not only am I made in the image of God, but I have a part of Him IN me as a believer in Christ, as do all of us who have accepted Christ. Paul writes about this in his letters to the churches:

“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” Galatians 5:16-17

This battle with our flesh and spirit is real. We all feel it every day. Imagine who we would be individually and as a church if we truly walked by the Spirit, denying our flesh its desires. We will never be perfect until we’re with the Lord, but wow, what an impact we’d have in our families, churches, work places, and anywhere we went! While such a feat feels impossible, the Lord is always with us, and as a Father who loves His children, He desires for us to place our hope, trust and rest in Him.

The Lord knows my situation and yours. Let us pray for one another and encourage one another in the truth of His Word. We are already victorious in Him!

~~~

As a way to help me remember this Scripture, I used AI to help create a song based on Psalm 37 called “Delight in the Lord”: Delight in the Lord

© Lauren Demuth

Battle Ready

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long. What I remember about that day was sitting in my 7th grade science class and hearing about it over the intercom. Later that day we watched the news on a TV wheeled into another class (at least I think this is what happened since I have no journal entry from this time). After school, I went down to the lobby and grabbed a newspaper which displayed the Twin Towers in smoke. Once my family and I returned home, we watched more of what happened on the news.

It was all so shocking. “This happened here, in America?” Such a thought was not intended to be arrogant but just sheer disbelief since I had never witnessed anything like this. Then the nation found out that such acts were intentional. Terrorism. A word that the government no longer desires to mention, but it’s still here and around the world. And it’s growing.

It can be overwhelming to read about all that’s going on in the world. It’s beyond disturbing what humans will do to other humans. So much innocence has been destroyed. Will all of this end? I daresay, no. There may be lulls of peace, but there will be no end until Christ’s return because we live in a fallen world. God does not cause evil things to happen; rather, sin does. We are not born into goodness, but into sin:

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.” ~ Romans 5:12-14 (NASB)

Paul continues his discussion by talking about God’s grace, but the key point in the verses above is that sin came into the world through Adam. We are then born inherently evil, not inherently good. We all have to make a conscious effort to act righteously. We can act sinfully without trying. This is the war the enemy wages with us. Our flesh against our spirit. Will we continue to walk with God, or will we be deserters by giving in to the world, and essentially, to the enemy?

I have very little military knowledge, but I know that soldiers train for battle. To be sent out too soon would be a mistake that could cost lives. Military leaders also don’t send their soldiers out into the battlefield without a plan of attack. The only way to make such a plan is to study the enemy, to know how he acts and thinks. But at the same time, the enemy is doing the same thing.

Our enemy is quite clever. He is not to be underestimated especially since he has been with God, and he has also departed from God. We are to constantly be in spiritual training so that we know the truth we hold onto and not fall into temptation. While we train and do our best to act out the knowledge we have, the enemy looks to exploits our weaknesses. And we all have them. But instead of being overcome by the enemy, the Lord has given us a way to be victorious in our weaknesses:

”And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NASB)

We can be overcomers in our weaknesses! We cannot work through weakness on our own; rather, we must rely on Jesus. When we can do nothing on our own accord, it is God who is magnified, not us. And when God is magnified, the enemy does not stand a chance. For the enemy’s weakness is arrogance. When we put our complete trust in God and place Him first in our lives, there is nothing for the enemy to exploit. Also, when we encourage one another and build each other up, the enemy is faced with the body of Christ and not just one member. He is thwarted easily when we work as a unit.

He also will not succeed if we know truth. Part of the training process is testing everything we have been taught against the Word of God. If something does not add up, it must be examined further. It is important to distinguish between man’s teaching and God’s teaching because the two are not always the same. In a time when political correctness tries to keep us from challenging anything, this is exactly what we must do. Challenge everything! If we don’t, we can easily fall into the enemy’s snare. This is especially important for leaders in the church because if you send soldiers into battle unprepared and ill-informed, there will be casualties. I’m not talking about a shortage in church attendance, but a shortage in the kingdom of God.

We are in a constant battle, and the world keeps pressing in. Are we prepared? Do we have a solid foundation? Are we ready to have our faith tested with fire?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” ~ 1 Peter 1:3-9 (NASB)

What’s wonderful about having Christ as our Savior is knowing that He has already won this war. If we continue to hold onto this hope of our salvation, we will have no issue thwarting the enemy because our eyes will constantly be on Christ. Is it hard at times? Absolutely! But that’s why we are the body of Christ. When one member starts to fall, the others are there to pick him or her up. The overall victory has already been won, but the smaller victories leading to the end are up to us (with God’s help, of course). Whom will we follow? How will we act? Will we listen to God’s voice? Will we obey His will? Will we be instruments for His glory so that more people may come to Christ?

Soldiers, put on your armor and let’s go!

 

© Lauren Heiligenthal