I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the people. I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your steadfast love is great to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds! (Vs. 9-10)
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Lamentations 3
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet various trials for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." James, the half-brother of Jesus
Maybe it is because our true nature....our vulnerabilities...become more apparent when we are under the stresses of adversities that we either "get better or bitter," as the saying goes. If faith, like a muscle, gets stronger for the using of it, then there must be reasons to exercise our trust in God. That means, obviously, we will meet up with circumstances that only He can help us through. Crucibles that squeeze out of us our best and worst selves.
I keep seeing a picture in my mind of an army of young soldiers on the battlefield. The Commander is somewhat controversial, giving orders to march forward and do exactly as He says. The way into the siege is counter intuitive and seems wrong to many of the younger troops.
"Just follow Me. I know the way!" cries the General.
"He's crazy!" screams the sergeant in charge. "He's going to get us all killed!"
The General has won many wars before. Highly decorated. Never wrong. But....He almost never follows protocol. Always wins in an unusual way. So it is tricky to follow His commands because the outcome never looks sure. Not for the faint of heart.
Intense fighting is before the men and women as they march into the jungle. In the distance, the sounds of heavy artillery, and, nearby, the treachery of the trails. Only the top of the General's head is visible as He leads the battalion. Only He sees what is up ahead in the dense foliage that flaps into the faces of the troops. They must trust blindly.
The sergeant, irritated by his lack of understanding, begins complaining about the direction the army is headed. The General has lost his mind! He leads a group of soldiers off the path toward the direction he thinks is best. The hearts of those who continue to follow the General quake in fear, wondering if they should have followed the sergeant. Still unsure of the different way they are going.
The dense forest grows darker every second, blocking much of the sun. In fear, some of the soldiers hide there. Bet on the dark to save them as they tremble at the coming conflict. The rest creep forward behind the General, trusting His reputation, but daunted all the same. They cease talking to each other because of what they might say. They can't doubt now. It takes all their courage to put one foot in front of the other. They can't wonder what happened to the troops who followed the sergeant. Focus is all important in the fight.
The General cries: "Halt!" He steps down from the armored tank on which He has been mounted. "The battle belongs to us!" He is confident. "Follow me!" And the tank moves forward, but the General walks with His men and women into war as He directs His dwindled troops into position. No time for cowardice now. The ones who followed are committed to fight. Get through. Or die trying. But what no one had made clear to them before was the General fights with them. On the ground in the fire. He is orchestrating the victory from within the battle. The smoke of war sometimes covers Him from sight, but He is there. If they listen they can hear Him.
Somehow, after days of battle, weary and drained, the firing ceases. The smoke clears. The soldiers stand. Victorious. They won't know they are stronger for the battle, yet. Not until the fatigue of fighting falls away to reveal the hard-fought freedom on the other side. Not until they discover what might have happened had they decided not to follow the General's brilliant plan for their victory.
The General Who went into the battle with them is decorated once again. No praise too high for the One Who drove through enemy territory without losing even one of those who followed Him to the end. Up in the air what happened to the troops who went with the sergeant. Dead in the forest like the ones who hid? Captured by the enemy? Left to wander through the war zone forever, never finding the path out?
One thing is for sure. Next time the soldiers go to war, they will follow the General because He led them through. It won't take so much faith because they know Him better now. They went through hell with Him and He made a way out because He was faithful to His faithful battalion.
Each victory my God snatches out of what looks like sure defeat, makes me love Him more. Each time I realize He loves me enough to involve Himself in my struggles, I am more determined than before to trust Him. What becomes clear is my trials in His hands are not for nothing. He is making me like Him - steadfast in love.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Lamentations 3
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet various trials for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." James, the half-brother of Jesus
Maybe it is because our true nature....our vulnerabilities...become more apparent when we are under the stresses of adversities that we either "get better or bitter," as the saying goes. If faith, like a muscle, gets stronger for the using of it, then there must be reasons to exercise our trust in God. That means, obviously, we will meet up with circumstances that only He can help us through. Crucibles that squeeze out of us our best and worst selves.
I keep seeing a picture in my mind of an army of young soldiers on the battlefield. The Commander is somewhat controversial, giving orders to march forward and do exactly as He says. The way into the siege is counter intuitive and seems wrong to many of the younger troops.
"Just follow Me. I know the way!" cries the General.
"He's crazy!" screams the sergeant in charge. "He's going to get us all killed!"
The General has won many wars before. Highly decorated. Never wrong. But....He almost never follows protocol. Always wins in an unusual way. So it is tricky to follow His commands because the outcome never looks sure. Not for the faint of heart.
Intense fighting is before the men and women as they march into the jungle. In the distance, the sounds of heavy artillery, and, nearby, the treachery of the trails. Only the top of the General's head is visible as He leads the battalion. Only He sees what is up ahead in the dense foliage that flaps into the faces of the troops. They must trust blindly.
The sergeant, irritated by his lack of understanding, begins complaining about the direction the army is headed. The General has lost his mind! He leads a group of soldiers off the path toward the direction he thinks is best. The hearts of those who continue to follow the General quake in fear, wondering if they should have followed the sergeant. Still unsure of the different way they are going.
The dense forest grows darker every second, blocking much of the sun. In fear, some of the soldiers hide there. Bet on the dark to save them as they tremble at the coming conflict. The rest creep forward behind the General, trusting His reputation, but daunted all the same. They cease talking to each other because of what they might say. They can't doubt now. It takes all their courage to put one foot in front of the other. They can't wonder what happened to the troops who followed the sergeant. Focus is all important in the fight.
The General cries: "Halt!" He steps down from the armored tank on which He has been mounted. "The battle belongs to us!" He is confident. "Follow me!" And the tank moves forward, but the General walks with His men and women into war as He directs His dwindled troops into position. No time for cowardice now. The ones who followed are committed to fight. Get through. Or die trying. But what no one had made clear to them before was the General fights with them. On the ground in the fire. He is orchestrating the victory from within the battle. The smoke of war sometimes covers Him from sight, but He is there. If they listen they can hear Him.
Somehow, after days of battle, weary and drained, the firing ceases. The smoke clears. The soldiers stand. Victorious. They won't know they are stronger for the battle, yet. Not until the fatigue of fighting falls away to reveal the hard-fought freedom on the other side. Not until they discover what might have happened had they decided not to follow the General's brilliant plan for their victory.
The General Who went into the battle with them is decorated once again. No praise too high for the One Who drove through enemy territory without losing even one of those who followed Him to the end. Up in the air what happened to the troops who went with the sergeant. Dead in the forest like the ones who hid? Captured by the enemy? Left to wander through the war zone forever, never finding the path out?
One thing is for sure. Next time the soldiers go to war, they will follow the General because He led them through. It won't take so much faith because they know Him better now. They went through hell with Him and He made a way out because He was faithful to His faithful battalion.
Each victory my God snatches out of what looks like sure defeat, makes me love Him more. Each time I realize He loves me enough to involve Himself in my struggles, I am more determined than before to trust Him. What becomes clear is my trials in His hands are not for nothing. He is making me like Him - steadfast in love.
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