For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. (Verses 3-4)
For thus says the One Who is high and lifted up, Who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him/her who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry, for the spirit would grow faint before Me, and the breath of life that I made." Isaiah 57 Italics, mine
Today Naghmeh Abedini announced that Saeed's mother will no longer be able to see him in prison. In fact, his mother must leave Iran or face prison herself. The Iranian government has doubled down on the request for clemency, saying there is no hope of it for Pastor Abedini. His mother collapsed into tears at the announcement and was taken to a nearby hospital. Pastor Abedini will now languish in the prison without benefit of visitors. Naghmeh said she is not shaken by the news because she wants no government to be glorified for her husband's release from prison, because God alone will do it. The message from Saeed was that he can feel all the prayers for him and they fill him with strength and courage to continue as a prisoner for the sake of Christ. And the enemy pursues their souls.
Saeed is not alone in his solitary cell. Not if what we believe is true. If what God says is right: that He dwells both in eternity and with those who love Him. Especially with the contrite and lowly. Who sit as if long dead in any prison the enemy constructs for our defeat. It is our souls he wants. Satan. To destroy them utterly. It is our souls he can't reach. They are reborn. They are not his to gain anymore. Our bodies are temporal, dust to dust. Eventually they fall away. Stripped of our tents, we are much more than physical: we are living spirits. Eternal in nature. It is that spirit Satan wants to destroy. Once our souls are held captive, our bodies will follow suit. I don't think there is any way Pastor Abedini could encourage others that he is strengthened and renewed if Jesus were not present with him in ways only the captive can know. May he be set free today from the nightmare Satan has thrown him into.
When we are held physically captive by the enemy, whether in an actual jail or in sickness or crisis, we must live from the soul. That connection we have with Jesus is our lifeblood, our only strength, our bread and water. Brought down to the most primal link to life. No earthly options left. I know it's what Jesus meant when He compared Himself to manna in the John 7 and when in John 6 He told us we would need to eat His flesh and drink His blood. It's not draconian. It's truth. When it all comes down to our souls and what they need to survive, it is living water, the bread of life (His Word) and the blood of His sacrifice, which makes us right with God. Those who conquer the evil one in ultimate victory do so by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony and by the fact that they loved not their lives even to their deaths (Revelation 12). The blood of Jesus is what makes our souls reborn. Remembering what Jesus saved us from, our lives without Him, and what He has done since we gave ourselves to Him is a powerful incentive to live for Him and a visceral reminder that He is real. But when we are asked to die for our faith in Jesus, it is our soul who must make the choice of which is greater: our life on Earth or our eternal life with Him. If our soul is uncultivated and asleep, fat with earthly gluttony, we are prey for the taking.
Never think God is too far away to meet us in our dark places. Though He made us to have bodies of flesh and blood, it is our souls for which He yearns. And it is there that He connects. Jesus Himself was in a place of darkness with those long dead, wrapped in the linen cloths of His burial, when the Spirit of God made Him live again. That same Spirit lives in us. To energize and strengthen our souls and our bodies. Satan lost the battle for my soul. He can't have it! No doubt he will try again and again. He has in the past. Satan is trying now with Saeed Abedini. But what the pastor knows is: If God be for us, who can be against us? He Who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also graciously give us all things?...in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8
With that same Spirit we have the privilege of crying, Abba (Daddy), as children of God. Abba, today, be with our brother Saeed and with all those who are held physically captive because of their faith in You. Feed his soul, pour living water into his lifeblood and hold in Your vast arms his contrite and lowly spirit. And contend with those who hold him in prison as only You can. Please set him physically free to Your great glory. Amen.
For thus says the One Who is high and lifted up, Who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him/her who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry, for the spirit would grow faint before Me, and the breath of life that I made." Isaiah 57 Italics, mine
Today Naghmeh Abedini announced that Saeed's mother will no longer be able to see him in prison. In fact, his mother must leave Iran or face prison herself. The Iranian government has doubled down on the request for clemency, saying there is no hope of it for Pastor Abedini. His mother collapsed into tears at the announcement and was taken to a nearby hospital. Pastor Abedini will now languish in the prison without benefit of visitors. Naghmeh said she is not shaken by the news because she wants no government to be glorified for her husband's release from prison, because God alone will do it. The message from Saeed was that he can feel all the prayers for him and they fill him with strength and courage to continue as a prisoner for the sake of Christ. And the enemy pursues their souls.
Saeed is not alone in his solitary cell. Not if what we believe is true. If what God says is right: that He dwells both in eternity and with those who love Him. Especially with the contrite and lowly. Who sit as if long dead in any prison the enemy constructs for our defeat. It is our souls he wants. Satan. To destroy them utterly. It is our souls he can't reach. They are reborn. They are not his to gain anymore. Our bodies are temporal, dust to dust. Eventually they fall away. Stripped of our tents, we are much more than physical: we are living spirits. Eternal in nature. It is that spirit Satan wants to destroy. Once our souls are held captive, our bodies will follow suit. I don't think there is any way Pastor Abedini could encourage others that he is strengthened and renewed if Jesus were not present with him in ways only the captive can know. May he be set free today from the nightmare Satan has thrown him into.
When we are held physically captive by the enemy, whether in an actual jail or in sickness or crisis, we must live from the soul. That connection we have with Jesus is our lifeblood, our only strength, our bread and water. Brought down to the most primal link to life. No earthly options left. I know it's what Jesus meant when He compared Himself to manna in the John 7 and when in John 6 He told us we would need to eat His flesh and drink His blood. It's not draconian. It's truth. When it all comes down to our souls and what they need to survive, it is living water, the bread of life (His Word) and the blood of His sacrifice, which makes us right with God. Those who conquer the evil one in ultimate victory do so by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony and by the fact that they loved not their lives even to their deaths (Revelation 12). The blood of Jesus is what makes our souls reborn. Remembering what Jesus saved us from, our lives without Him, and what He has done since we gave ourselves to Him is a powerful incentive to live for Him and a visceral reminder that He is real. But when we are asked to die for our faith in Jesus, it is our soul who must make the choice of which is greater: our life on Earth or our eternal life with Him. If our soul is uncultivated and asleep, fat with earthly gluttony, we are prey for the taking.
Never think God is too far away to meet us in our dark places. Though He made us to have bodies of flesh and blood, it is our souls for which He yearns. And it is there that He connects. Jesus Himself was in a place of darkness with those long dead, wrapped in the linen cloths of His burial, when the Spirit of God made Him live again. That same Spirit lives in us. To energize and strengthen our souls and our bodies. Satan lost the battle for my soul. He can't have it! No doubt he will try again and again. He has in the past. Satan is trying now with Saeed Abedini. But what the pastor knows is: If God be for us, who can be against us? He Who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also graciously give us all things?...in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8
With that same Spirit we have the privilege of crying, Abba (Daddy), as children of God. Abba, today, be with our brother Saeed and with all those who are held physically captive because of their faith in You. Feed his soul, pour living water into his lifeblood and hold in Your vast arms his contrite and lowly spirit. And contend with those who hold him in prison as only You can. Please set him physically free to Your great glory. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment