Therefore put on God's complete armor,
that
you may be able to resist and stand your ground on
the evil day [of danger],
and,
having done all [the crisis demands],
to
stand [firmly in your place].
--Ephesians 6:13
I
would like to come back to the story of Joseph,
Genesis 39: 16-23. He has been faithful to God and
has not slept with Potiphers wife. She was angered
by this and has now lied to Potipher and claimed
that Joseph attacked her. This led to Joseph being
sent to prison.
We
all have had times when we have felt falsely accused.
We often have to quit fighting and just walk away.
Because no matter what we say or how clear our
arguments the other person has already decided that
we have harmed them and they are not going to change
their minds. There are times when we must continue
to fight due to business or family concerns. This
is a time when it is important to turn to God for
every step of the way. And there are times, when
like Joseph and like some on this site, you are
truly in prison. Now, you may be falsely accused
and this has to be the most difficult season to
stand. But whether you have been falsely accused or
have admitted your sin, whether you are fighting a
battle or are trying to overcome the urge to fight,
the key is to be obedient to God.
Shoshana spoke in her Sunday Message about going to
God first
in all matters before we take any other steps.
It is so easy for us to lean on our own experiences
and knowledge to make decisions, even when we don’t
realize we are doing it. We think we are smarter
than God and so we decide what we are going to do
and then we ask God to take care of us while we do
that thing. This was the very problem with the
original sin.
"The first sin of man was a typical sin, that is, a
sin in which the real essence of sin clearly reveals
itself. The essence of that sin lay in the fact that
Adam placed himself in opposition to God. That he
refused to subject his will to the will of God, to
have God determine the course of his life.” -Louis
Berkhof
We
need to let God determine the course of our life.
I believe the only way to do that is to not only
pray before every decision but to involve God in
every part of our life. I know that when I was
younger I felt that I was going to have to give up
something if I gave up my life completely to God.
But that is not true. I am so thankful that God
brought me into a closer relationship with him that
I may learn about his love and kindnesses. There
are so many benefits. But, like Joseph
first we
must be obedient and then we gain the benefits. One
of the benefits that I have noticed for myself, that
is true even when I am going through trials, is
something that Rick Warren talked about in The
Purpose Driven Life. He said, “When God is at
the center of your life you worship; when he’s not
you worry.” Now I am not saying I never worry. I,
too, am a work in progress, but I do not worry as
much as I did before I made my relationship with God
the most important thing in my life.
And
so, we are prisoners of our bodies and illness or in
some cases, literally a prisoner.
We all have strongholds to work on and there will
always be problems that come up, but in certain
cases there comes a time when we have done or are
doing all we can. So, in our situation God asks us
to put on his armor and stand. Sometimes, time
seems to drag on and on. Seemingly nothing is
changing in our circumstances or our health. For
me, this is the most difficult time to remain
obedient to God. It just seems so long ago that he
gave me that word or that vision of things to come.
Was it real? Did I just make it up? Has God
forgotten me?
We
can be obedient to God during these times.
It is possible to get through these trying times by
spending as much time as we can with God. It takes
practice, at first, but slowly it just becomes a way
of life. Putting God first means that we consult
him and include him as if he is our best friend.
But even more, and this is a hard one for me, is
every act and every thought pleasing to him?
Remember he is Holy! So I certainly fall short
every day. Just as we all do. Thank You God that
you are kind and merciful!
These times of “standing” can be a deep time of
learning about God.
For example, the first part of this verse reads:
For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood
[contending only with physical opponents], but
against the despotisms, against the powers, against
[the master spirits who are] the world rulers of
this present darkness, against the spirit forces of
wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural)
sphere.-Ephesians 6:12
During the time that
we are standing in our circumstance and waiting for
God to move there are still going to be things to
contend with such as evil. But, we should be
studying his Word so that we know exactly how evil
is going to come against us and how we can fight
it. If we just read Ephesians 6:13 we might come to
our own conclusions as to who or what we are
standing against. If we want God to work with us,
we have to understand what he is fighting against,
for us. And so, within the confines of our
circumstances we can choose our attitudes and how we
spend our free time and, of course, our thoughts.
(Even as you read this article or any message or
article I would encourage you to read the Bible
passages yourself to see if you agree with the
interpretation.)
Joseph remained obedient to God, even in prison.
The scriptures tell us that he was blessed in prison
and God was with him. God had a plan for Joseph and
Joseph was obedient to God and so we see that God
“showed him kindness and granted him favor in the
eyes of the prison warden” (Genesis 39: 21). It is
so easy for us to see the blessings when we know how
the story of Joseph ends. But while he was in prison
he didn’t know what would happen in the future. We
don’t know what will happen in the future. But, if
like Joseph, we turn to God and are obedient, God
will guide us. With God we will be able to stand
prepared, firm footed, stable, prompt and ready…even
if we don’t know exactly what is coming.
God
wants to show you his Glory and help you, but we
have to do it his way, we have to be obedient.
If you are raising an ill child and you are ill, it
is almost impossible to know what is coming from one
day to the next. Ephesians 6:13-15 is very
important to me because I learned that I did not
need to fight people, even those that fought me and
my daughter. We have had great battles, but we have
had to learn to fight them on God’s terms not on our
terms. Since I cannot ever plan from one day to the
next, I have had to learn to lean on God to show me
what to do each day. I pray that you will find
God’s kindness and peace as you move through this
storm and find calm in his arms, for you and your
child. I pray that for each of you, no matter what
your storm, you will lean on God to show you what to
do each day. I
pray that each of you will walk closer to God today
and Stand Strong! I pray that you also find Peace
along the way. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
And
having shod your feet in preparation
[to
face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the
promptness,
and
the readiness produced by the good news]
of the Gospel of peace.
--Ephesians 6:15
