The Weapons of the Righteous – Trust in the Lord and Cultivate Faithfulness

Before becoming a Christian, I learned never to trust any man who told me, “Trust me.”  This mistrust translated into my Christianity when I encountered many scriptures saying, “Trust in the Lord.”  Now, this was the same Lord who inspired these very words.  In essence, God was telling me to trust Him.  Frankly, that was very hard, especially after being let down by those close to me who were supposed to have been there for me through good and bad times.  Trusting God has been a slow and sometimes painful process.  But, our all-knowing God knew this beforehand and that’s why the last part of Psalm 37:3 in the NASB version tells us to cultivate faithfulness. Cultivating takes time because the land has to be prepared to promote growth.  This has to take place in our sometimes stony hearts, which have to be plowed to soften the ground and anything that would impede growth has to be removed so that when seeds of faithfulness are planted they will flourish.  The Lord wants us not only to trust Him, but also to be loyal and steadfast in our love for Him.  However, we have to be able to trust God first, in order to be faithful to Him.  It would be hard for me to be faithful to someone I couldn’t trust.  Therefore, a part of cultivating faithfulness is learning to trust God, remembering that even if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.  2 Timothy 2:13.  That’s just who He is – Faithful.

Earlier this year, God kept on telling me to trust Him through Bible verses, devotionals and friends.  I really wanted to, but I still struggled with the trust issue and then “it” happened.  No, the “it” that happened was not a sudden feeling of total trust of the Lord, but rather “it” was a bombardment of difficulties that left me in a quandary.  There was nothing else I could do but to give each and every adversity to God and let Him fix all that was overwhelming me, whether it was the uncertainty of continuing the ministry because funds were very low, or a monstrous mouse that somehow made its way into the house.  Only God could work it out, and He did.  He solved the problems of money, mouse and what seemed like a mountain of muddles.   And, just when I thought I was out of the quagmire, “it” happened again.  This time “it” was a spate of illnesses, including extreme exhaustion and unexplainable rashes by my shoulders. I wasted no time to give these maladies over to God, knowing that if I cast my burdens on Him, He would sustain me.  I regained energy and the rashes disappeared.  I still have other ailments, but like Job, I say, “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him.”  Now, I don’t believe that God has caused any of my predicaments, but I know that none of what I have encountered has caught Him off guard.  He has allowed all these mini or major crises for a reason.  And, one such reason is to draw me closer to Him.  My pain and discomfort are not being wasted, and out of the mess will come a message about the great God who I serve.

 

If we are truthful to ourselves, we will admit that we have not trusted God in the way He would want us to.  How many of us truly trust in the Lord without leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)?  Some of us trust in our symbolic horses and chariots (Psalm 20:7), others trust in themselves and are fools (Proverbs 28:26), while others trust in riches and fall (Proverbs 11:28), and still there are those who trust in deceptive words that are worthless (Jeremiah 7:8).  Too many of us fail to realize that if we trust in the God of hope, He fills us with joy and peace so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans15:13). 

Far too often, we have misplaced our trust, putting our confidence in man, but Jesus knew better (John 2:24-25).  Shouldn’t we trust the One who knows what is in the heart of man, while still showing us His loving kindness?  Shouldn’t our confidence be in the One who cannot be deceived?

Our God commands us to be strong and courageous and not to be afraid, or discouraged for He is with us wherever we go.  (Joshua 1:9)

But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.

Isaiah 43:1-2

I always want to shout, “Hallelujah!!!” when I read these verses.  How can I not trust a God who is with me through all of these?  I know that many will ask why didn’t He prevent these terrible things instead of let us go through them?  Well, we need to know that we need Him.  If everything went well in our lives, we would think that we could make it in this life on our own, and may miss out on life everlasting with Him.  God loves us too much to let us go to hell that easy.   Know that good can be very far from being Godly. But, how will we know this unless we have a deep relationship with the Father?  We tend to draw closer to Him during the hard times, and then we will know without a doubt that He is our refuge and strength, and an ever present help in times of trouble.  He proved Himself faithful to an adulterous people in the Bible, He has been faithful to the rebellious throughout history, and He continues to be faithful in these days when we are lovers of self.  As we are enveloped by God’s faithfulness and love, the harsh seasons we go through make us more like Him.  We are being crushed to be wine to quench the spiritual thirst of those around us and we are broken bread in Jesus’ hands to nourish His body.  And when we go through our desert place, God is taking us to a Promised Land that we are prepared for because our hearts are renewed to reflect His love and His faithfulness. Our story will be for His glory.  Therefore, I will choose to trust my Lord, my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2   I trust Him, because He is who He is, and I can say like Habakkuk:

Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the Lord,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Yes, we will have rough times, when all seems lost, but don’t give up the fight, because the battle is the Lord’s.  We don’t have to be discouraged when a vast army comes against us.  Trust in the Lord’s character.  He is faithful to us, even to the very end of the age and lovingly watches over us as we cultivate faithfulness in the dry dark times in our lives.  Let us trust Him to do a mighty work within us, for when we are weak, He is strong; when we cry alone, He is our Comforter; when we feel like our lives are in ruin, He is our Restorer; when the battalion of hell attacks us, He is our Deliverer; and when we are held in the bondage of sin, He is our Redeemer. Trust Him!

The Weapons of the Righteous – Do Not Fret

First, let me start off this post with a confession – I am a recovering fretter.  I looked up the word fret and it gave me some anxiety as it means to eat or gnaw into and to wear away. What vivid descriptions of how fretting can adversely affect the depths of our souls and our bodies.  Can you imagine that these are the effects of fretting? It should make us want to stop fretting for the rest of our lives.  To fret also means to worry, so I will use these words interchangeably throughout this post.   This post may also be a bit lengthy, but don’t worry, read it when you can and how you can.

Do Not fret About Suffering

Growing up with my grandmother, who was also a worrier, I would see her put her hand on her jaw and ask God out loud, “Why do we have to suffer so much?” This is indelibly etched in my memory.  She was a churchgoing woman, but may not have understood that she served a Savior who suffered.   Jesus had asked the Father to let the cup of suffering pass Him as He knew the torture that awaited Him on His journey to the cross on Calvary. But, it was the Father’s will, so, He did what He had come to earth to do and because of His tribulations we are now triumphant. In the NASB version, the title for Isaiah 53 is The Suffering Servant.  And verse 10 says this:

But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

 

It sounds so cruel that the Father was pleased to crush the Son.  But, it was for a great purpose and because Jesus took our sins to the cross, we now have eternal life and no more shackles of sin.  We are free!!!

 

As followers of Jesus, we too must obediently take up our own cup of suffering and carry our cross.  Before you think I am being fatalistic and pessimistic, please let us go to the scriptures. 

But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

We need not worry when suffering even though it can be quite painful, since God knows what we are going through and is using the trial to take out impurities from us to make us come out as pure gold.  Now, I am not there yet with James to count it all joy when I encounter trials of many kinds, nonetheless, I know God is working things out of me and in me, so that I lack nothing in Him.   We can have peace in the midst of turmoil knowing that Jesus is with us whether in a small disturbance or a major storm.  We just have to be courageous and focus on Him, not shifting our gaze.  But, if we do take our eyes off Him and start to sink, He is ready to pick us up with His mighty hands. Moreover, we are more than conquerors in Christ because He has overcome the world. So, why worry when Jesus Himself tells us not to worry?

Do Not Fret Just Obey Jesus

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34

Three times in this passage Jesus tells us not to worry because the Father is taking care of our needs.  Then, why do we worry?  I believe it is because we are a rebellious generation.  If we do not obey God, then we are rebelling against Him and not trusting Him.  Remember, I am speaking to myself here too.  I know not worrying when all goes wrong may not be natural to us as it comes easily and it may seem a bit odd if we are not fretting in times of intense trials.  But, Jesus often calls us to go counterculture and even against our accepted beliefs.  When He told Peter and His fellow fishermen to go back out after a night of hard work, which had yielded no results, it did not make sense, but Peter wisely responded, “I will do as You say.” Luke 5:5.  It is time do what Jesus says and not worry, even though we are prone to do so.  He has given us this command because He loves us and understands the ill-effects of fretting.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. Psalm 37:8-9

Yikes!!! I seriously am making a decision not to fret.  Not only can it lead to evil coming out of our anger, but it can be physically debilitating.   WebMD highights some of the ailments we can have from stress resulting from worry – heart problems, high blood pressure, asthma, obesity, diabetes, headaches, depression, gastrointestinal problems, alzheimer’s, accelerated aging, and even premature death.   Jesus is all about life.  It is the enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy.  Therefore, why are we giving him an open door to cause havoc in our lives by worrying? God has told us not to worry, so just do it.

Do Not Worry About Loved Ones

Many of us worry about loved ones going astray, but we must not forget that God loves them more than we ever could and we need to leave them to Him.  Sometimes our helping could be hindering and we become enablers, therefore, we need to keep on looking to Jesus and not their issues.

Recently, while babysitting four of the children I work with, the three year old was going through her rebellious stage with me and I wasn’t having it.  She did exactly what I told her not to do and she fell.  I didn’t budge.  I stayed seated as she cried, while her seven year old sister went over and brushed her off gently as I gave a watchful eye.  She brought her to sit on her lap as she comforted her.  It was quite a touching scene, but I still didn’t say anything.  Soon, my little repentant three year old came closer to me and said, “Aunty Nicky, I going to behave.”  She was welcomed into my lap where she fell asleep peacefully.

Now, before you go saying I am a mean ogre, I never let her out of my sight.  I saw that she had no cuts or bruises, and all her limbs were in place.  Well maybe her ego was bruised, but she had to learn a lesson that she must face consequences for disobedience.  God does the same with us.  Sometimes we feel that He is much too silent in our misery.  Yet, He is always near.  We want Him to fix things right away as we lean on our own understanding, failing to realize that His ways are not our ways, and that through our trials He is redirecting our paths back to Him, the safest place we could be.  If we are not being disciplined by God, then that would be a cause for concern as God is a good Father who disciplines the ones He loves and who He accepts as His children. 

 

Stop worrying and desperately trying to get your loved ones out of their mess.  Instead, through prayer, bring them to the throne room and leave them at the Father’s feet.  In addition, let it sink in that persistent prayers and anxious prayers are at opposite ends of the spectrum.  Persistent prayers focus on God, while anxious prayers focus on the problem. 

 

Do Not Worry About Evil People

I know this can be a tough one, because sometimes we feel that we are bombarded by mean rude aggressive people who slander us and gossip about us.  But, there is no need to worry.  Psalm 37: 1 tells us Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers.  For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb.  If anyone should worry it should be the evildoers, so we need to make sure we are not doing evil.

Persons who do wrong to us can leave deep wounds, but we need to forgive and seek healing from Jesus, for by His stripes we are healed and He has come to heal the brokenhearted.  Back in high school, there were girls who would laugh at me and say my hair looked like a wig.  You may think, “Well its only hair, what’s the problem, move on?”  However, to a teenage girl who lacked the cool gene that was another point of hurt and it was not until I was around forty that a former classmate told me many girls wanted to have hair like mine.  All that time I took worrying about my hair looking like a wig and trying to figure out what to do to make it look “normal” was pointless.  I should have just walked proudly in who God created me to be, whether I looked like I wore a wig or not.  Lesson learned.  Don’t worry about what people are saying, or trying to please others.  That is a tactic used by the enemy to destroy our identity in Christ and to get us out of God’s will.

Some may be going through much worse than what I did and may have to face bullies at school or even on the job.  Many folks are mistreated in their place of employment and even in their own homes, and may feel that they have many adversaries coming against them. But, when King David faced a similar situation he was not worried, as he confidently stated,

I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.

Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. Psalm 3:7-8

David had no worries, as His confidence was in his God, who could shatter the teeth of the wicked.  We don’t need to worry either when we put our confidence in the Lord.  Plus, many of our antagonists’ bark is bigger than their bite.  It is difficult to have a good bite when toothless.  God has already done it.   We don’t have to worry.

Do Not Fret Because Nothing Is Stronger Than God

Here in Jamaica, I often hear people say, “The devil strong, eh?”  Seriously?!! No devil, demon, or problem is ever stronger that the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit.  We unintentionally exalt the devil above God by being great publicists when we give exposure to his diabolic deeds.  Let’s change our perspective and put our focus back where it belongs, on Jesus, who is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the great Miracle Worker, who makes a way where there seems to be no way.  Now, He is Someone worth talking about.  

God allows us to go through tribulations so that He can draw us closer to Himself.  He uses whatever trials the enemy throws at us as a tool to smooth off our rough edges and to make us into His image.  The Master Potter has got us in His hands.  The Lord knows when it is pruning season as He is the Expert Gardener, who knows pruning is painful for us now, but in the future as a result of it, we will bear much fruit. Consequently, we don’t have to worry because God is in charge.  Through Him we are not defeated victims, but vibrant victors radiating His glory. 

The Weapons of the Righteous - Waiting on the Lord

Recently, as I mediated on Psalm 37, it dawned on me that God had inspired David to write a psalm that outlined some of His weapons against the enemy.  I wish I really understood this earlier as it would have saved me years of heartache.  Over twenty years ago God gave me this psalm as a gift. While playing what I call Bible Roulette, I “by chance” opened my Bible to Psalm 37.  I started reading this chapter and about half way through, I stopped and wondered what this psalm had to do with the purpose of my flipping the Bible open.  Then it happened, I heard a calm strong male voice say, “It’s a gift.” No, I did not flip out, neither was it normal for me to hear voices, but for some reason I kept on reading.  I didn’t get it.  I was far from being a Christian at that time, even though my Bible was always close to me. 

After becoming a Christian a few years later, this psalm started having a great impact on me, and since then the words in this chapter have carried me through many difficult seasons of my life.  Now, I am starting to comprehend the power of these words against the enemy of our soul.  Not fretting, trusting the Lord, delighting in Him, committing our ways to Him, resting in Him and waiting on Him throws the enemy off kilter when he and his demonic minions come against us with all the forces of hell.

I will be writing a series on The Weapons of the Righteous derived from Psalm 37.  In this first post, I will expound on how Waiting on the Lord gives us ample ammunition to combat our formidable foe.

Waiting is not something many of us would look forward to, however when a woman is expecting she is expectant and excitedly prepares for the coming of her bundle of joy.  Waiting means that we are in a period of preparation for the Lord’s promises.  Whether it is a child, a spouse, a job, a house, moving to another city or country, a promotion, or even a vacation, we must be prepared. The Lord is a good Father and will not give us something we are not ready for as it might hurt us and others.  So it is best to wait on Him, even if He takes us through the wilderness to get to our Promised Land.  We need to understand God is working on taking the mess out of our lives so we will be emptied of things that are not of Him, then, we will have room for Him to fill us with His blessings.  Therefore, let us allow God to have His way in our lives and try not to manipulate to get our way.  Remember Sarai, whose impatience brought about Ishmael, the child of the flesh, whose birth has caused much grief through hundreds of generations?  Her life teaches us a lesson on waiting on the Lord.  God will do what He says He will do as He is not a man that He should lie, so wait patiently on Him.  There is purpose to this preparation period. 

We need to still our souls and wait, instead of allowing our emotions to dictate our impetuous responses, which could hinder the fruition of whatever we are waiting on.  It is important to be alert and of sober mind as our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for an open door to devour us (1 Peter 5:8)  The devil likes it when we are confused and flustered, so He will design devious devices to derail our destinies.  Don’t give in to Him, we need to be still and wait for the fog to clear in our minds before we make a detrimental decision that could deter our God-given desires. Let us take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), while we wait on Him.  Don’t forget the enemy wants to make our minds his battlefield, but we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). 

Stilling our soul and waiting on the Lord, enables us to get our will in alignment with God’s will.  Hence, as we wait we should be in the Word of God and let it flood our spirit and soul, so that we will be able to discern God’s will for our lives.  Know though that the enemy uses the scriptures to throw us off God’s path.  He did it with Jesus, and He will do it with us.  Consequently, we must not just have a peripheral knowledge of God’s Word, but we must get in the Word and let the Word be in us, ready at all times to disarm the enemy.   

By now, you should have come to the realization that waiting is by no means passive.  As we wait on the Lord, we should be praying (Communicating with God is essential as it is all about our relationship with Him), praising the Lord (He inhabits to the praises of His people), preparing for the promise (Don’t be like those five oil-less virgins), practicing the Word (We must live out our faith), and preach the Word (Even if it is just to ourselves, speak the Word as faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God). 

Now go and wait on the Lord, it is a weapon of the righteous.

Being Still

"Be still and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10

A day before dislocating my shoulder in June, 2016, I heard God's voice clearly, "Be still."  For weeks before that the message of being still repeatedly came up in Bible verses, songs and just speaking to folks.  I knew without a doubt God wanted me to be still and that dislocated shoulder made me be still.  This happened just a few weeks before hearing that the short documentary, which I had submitted to a film festival was being nominated for an award.  The nomination was a big deal as it could be used as a selling point in raising funds for the film.  But, alas, the production of the documentary had to go on hold.

I was diligently doing my physical therapy when this dislocation occurred.  My physical therapist was very concerned as I was doing really well in my sessions and in my progress.  Consequently, I had to bite the bullet and go to an orthopedic surgeon.  After a couple of tests he discovered that my shoulder socket was worn in the front and so it caused instability in my shoulder.  I had to do surgery.  Being a local missionary with no other income and no health insurance, I had to raise funds for this procedure.  I still am raising funds.  This meant I had to not only be still, but I have to wait.  

I have had to be still physically, because the slightest movement in a certain direction could result in a dislocation.  And, I also have to be still in my soul, so that I am not always anxious as I wait for the surgery while the funds slowly come in.  However, I believe that God is using my stillness and waiting as a period of preparation for the next level He wants to bring me to in Him.  I have had time to ask Him to search me and see if there is any wicked way in me (ref. Psalm 139:23-24) and to create a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me (ref. Psalm 51:10).  I have looked upward as I know I need to look inward and become who God wants me to be.

This season of waiting has been quite fruitful.  I wrote a book, Purpose to the Pain, to help raise funds for the surgery.  But, more important is the fact that while I expounded on the blog entries that comprise this book, I was able to evaluate my life and God's work in me.  I am not where I want to be, but I am definitely not where I used to be, or who I used to be.  God has been transforming me through a series of struggles and my dislocations are no different.  

My arm is in a sling as I wait for Usain Bolt to run in the Olympics

I can now be thankful in extreme pain, knowing that God is still with me and loving me.  My surgery will be in His timing.  The funds will come just when it needs to and when I am not dislocated spiritually.  Slowly but surely, I am getting there.  God does not want me to be spiritually dislocated or else I will not be able to handle what He has purposed me to do.  This period is preparation for a purpose, so I must persevere through the pain.  Therefore, I am still and I wait as God teaches me to be who He wants me to be.