THIS IS SPARTA!
God speaks to people in different ways.
This is something that I realized while on the World Race, and it has only gotten clearer as time has gone on. He can speak to us in words, pictures, encouragement, worship, and the list goes on. A squadmate of mine usually was spoken to like a warrior and with war jargon. That’s rarely, if ever, how I hear from God, and I verbalized this last week.
Lesson: Don’t use the word never when it comes to your relationship with God unless you want to be challenged to a new level of depth with Him.
Here is what I heard and wrote in my journal the following morning:
When we become believers we transition from being civilians in the spiritual war, or worse, part of the enemy camp, to being warriors for the kingdom of God. We are given specific and ready-made armor to both defend and attack. We become part of the rescue mission for those prisoners of war who feel downtrodden, beaten, and unloved in a world that belongs to the enemy. Our motivation and purpose is that we are deeply loved by the High Commander, His secret weapon is love, and we have the order to share His secret. Our hope is on the things above, which are outside the dominion of the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Until we are released from duty, we toil through this unfriendly terrain, finding the occasional reprieve in beauty, friendship, a shared table, joy, laughter, celebration…for these things were part of the design of our original human experience. What the enemy finds particularly enraging is that this land, this world which we walk, was created by the High Commander, who has no trouble knowing ever detail, ever inch of His creation, intimately. His touch is evident in everything, which is a thorn in the deceiver’s side, for he can never blot out the influence of the High Commander. It is known, even by the enemy, that his efforts are futile because the war is won. Sure, he can have the fleeting gratification of a battle won, but it is as if he is:
A mosquito against an entire bottle of insect repellent.
A tiny dagger against the most magnificent armor.
A drop of hate next to an ocean of love and grace.
He cannot win – AND HE KNOWS IT – yet he continues to send his minions to the sons and daughters of light and the unclaimed alike. What’s more, the High Commander is not alarmed or concerned. He leads with a deep peace, beyond understanding, and commands His troops with the deepest compassion. THE WAR IS WON, YET WE, THE CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT, BECOME WARRIORS IN OUR LITTLE SECTION OF ETERNITY UNTIL WE HAVE SERVED OUR TERM ON EARTH.
Remember that time I said that God doesn’t usually talk to me in war terminology?
I stand corrected and this is war.
You know what else? I’m fine if I sound a little crazy. This is a crazy world we live in and walking with Jesus is even crazier.
