From a Cluttered Desk

Here’s an analogy that, while it may be uncomfortable, is accurate.

A good soldier walks by faith constantly.

He walks by faith in both his armor and his weapons. He knows them intimately, spending time handling them so that they are completely familiar. He cares for his weapons so that they will never fail him through his own negligence, so when he is in battle he walks in faith that they will serve as they are designed to serve.

He walks by faith in his own training - he has been through boot camp and likely many more hours of training in various forms of warfare, self-preservation, and the care and use of weapons. He has applied himself to this learning because he knows his life will depend on it, and when in battle trusts his training and abilities.

He walks by faith in his `brothers.’ He is one with this group of soldiers and knows that each is ever present to support the others, that they have his back while in battle and stand by to lift him up if he falls.

He walks by faith in his superior officers, trusting that they, with their broader view, their higher perspective, know more about what is really happening than he does, that they will only send him where he needs to go and will always do their utmost to ensure that he does his job and returns safely.

This walking by faith is about choices. The good soldier chooses to prepare for his occupation - through training, through maintaining his weapons, through developing strong relationships with his fellow soldiers. The good soldier, having done all of this, chooses to put his trust ‘out there.’ It’s not automatic to trust your neighbor to watch your back; this is something that comes as a result of relationship, of working together enough that even if you don’t much like each other, both of you know you can rely on the other to do his or her job. It’s not automatic to put your trust in those higher up the chain, but the soldier who understands perspective, who realizes that the commander sees the bigger picture, can choose to do this very thing.

We are soldiers in the army of the Lord; contrary to popular belief, it’s not optional. When we accepted Jesus, we accepted our part in the battle. WE MUST WALK BY FAITH.

It shouldn’t surprise any Christian to learn that the kingdoms of light and darkness are at war with one another. What does surprise many is that we are to take part in this war ourselves, that we too are called to battle. Ephesians 6 doesn’t tell us to put on the whole armor of God for no reason. We are to wear this armor all the time, just like a soldier will on the front lines of battle. Ephesians 6:17 tells us to take up the sword of the spirit to equal purpose and like any good soldier we are to give ourselves to training in how to use this weapon. Only when we have done all of this will we be able to truly walk by faith that our armor and our weapons will not fail us, and we will not fail ourselves, our brothers, or our Commander in Chief (God, of course).

The good soldier in the army of the Lord also has faith in his brothers and sisters in Christ. Having been fitly joined together with the members of the body (Read: Planted in, and an active part of, a local church), he can walk by faith that these fellow soldiers will have his back, spiritually speaking, and stand by to lift him up if he falls.

And he walks by faith in his commanding officer, in God, knowing that God’s perspective is entirely different from ours. God doesn’t see a bigger portion of the  picture; He sees the whole picture. He is so great that He knows the end from the beginning and is also able to have an intimate relationship with each and every one of us. The one who has developed a personal, close relationship with God KNOWS that he can trust God with his very life. Again, as is true with a soldier and his brothers, relationship makes walking by faith that much easier - have a deep relationship with God and you will trust Him, will be able to walk by faith in Him regardless of the circumstances.

I’ve known people who could hear all of this and still back away, not understanding, perhaps thinking that only someone who never really went through battles could believe it possible to walk by faith in this way. ("You don’t know the trouble I’m in!") What this person usually doesn’t realize is that the one standing next to him is quite possibly fighting battles that are every bit as bad or, hard as it may be to believe, worse than his own.

Battles are a fact of the Christian life, and if one is actively working on developing a stronger relationship with God, striving to be all God wants him to be, the battles may well seem constant.

I had a teacher tell me, when I was in high school, that if the devil isn’t attacking you it’s because you’re not doing enough for God. I didn’t want to believe this, because the devil wasn’t attacking me at all. Of course, as I grew in Him I realized she was telling the honest truth. At that point, I was a baby Christian still in her cradle, for all that I’d been saved for years. When I finally decided to grow up, to actively work on becoming all God wanted me to be, things changed. Oh BOY did they change!

Let me tell you something about warfare. It’s something you already know, of course, but for some reason it took me years to equate this one truth to spiritual warfare.

When you’re a new recruit (A baby Christian), you start training for your future. As you give yourself to training and purpose yourself to become what God wants you to be, you move into the battle. At first you stay in the rear, where you are well protected and the enemy can only take a jab at you every once in a while. As you grow in understanding and skill as a soldier in the army of the Lord, you move further to the front. No matter where you are in battle, you’re still surrounded by your brothers, you still have your armor and weapons (Only you know MUCH more about how to use them!) and you can still depend on your Commander in Chief. What has changed? You are getting closer to the enemy’s camp and doing more damage to his army.

Do you see it? The closer you get to the enemy’s camp, the more damage you can do to him. Consequently, the harder he’s going to fight you. The battles never completely stop if you’re moving forward with God; if anything, they come more constantly and are bigger. But your skills and abilities are also bigger, so you are well-prepared for everything you face; you have the necessary weapons and support and only need to use them. Your faith grows too, because you have been walking by faith and faith that is used grows stronger.

Walk by faith.

It’s not just a pretty phrase. It’s what we absolutely must do if we are to move forward with God.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

It’s easy enough to do at the altar, when I’ve stepped forward with that specific thing in mind, but at 1:00 on a Thursday afternoon, when I’ve a to-do list three pages long and I’m so busy I haven’t even had time to stop and pray?

Oopse! Did I say that?

I’m close to God. I talk to Him, and listen to Him, on a fairly continual basis. I read His Word pretty much daily. I serve my church, being fitly joined together with the body of Christ as He has commanded me to be. I’m close to God. But am I close enough?

Not a chance!

No matter how close I get to God, I will not be close enough until I’ve joined Him in Heaven, and the minute I decide that I am close enough I’ve actually taken a step away from Him.

This past weekend is a good example. I was sitting at my computer on Thursday afternoon, frustrated by all of the things I hadn’t gotten done, when the Lord spoke to me. "The first thing you’ve left undone has to do with Me." He’d asked me a while back if I would devote 45 minutes a day to nothing but straight time with Him - no distractions, no interruptions. At first, I made sure to always do this first thing in the morning, when I am less likely to be distracted or interrupted, but then something changed. On one morning, I had something that simply had to go out in the day’s mail. On another morning, I had a deadline that I absolutely had to meet. On yet another morning… I was still spending 45 minutes with Him…on most days at least (I hope)…but by the time we got together the day was gone.

Then, on Thursday afternoon, God rebuked me. I stopped right then and gave Him His time.

And after that time spent together, He told me what to do next. And when I’d finished that, He told me what to do next. And when I’d finished that…

I have accomplished more since Thursday afternoon than I’ve managed in weeks. Why? Because on Thursday I realized that I had forgotten that if my one, greatest desire is something other than pleasing Him, then I have a problem. I realized that I’d let my focus slip off His face and my priorities had shifted as a result. I realized I’d forgotten that I cannot afford NOT to pray, that I’d managed to ignore prayer until it was too late. I awoke to the fact that I wasn’t close enough, that although I had been giving God a lot, I’d not been giving Him everything He wanted,  and I started giving more.

Time is a lot like money. If, as soon as we get money, we stop and give God the first 10% (plus offering, of course), then He can bless everything else, but if we wait until there’s almost nothing left before we give Him His part, then there is nothing left for Him to bless. The same is true with time. If I give Him the FIRST part of my day…

I’m not one who wakes up quickly. I need a few minutes before my eyes really open even once I’m out of bed. Unfortunately, I had gotten into the habit of using those wake-up minutes in such a way that they did not lead me into time with Him. Now I’ve started something new; I wake up with Him. I pull out my prayer journal before I’m fully awake and, even if I start out journaling nonsense, my brain and heart eventually kick in and He and I end up spending real time together. I’m giving Him the first part of my day, and oh boy is He blessing the rest!

This is only one example of what I’m talking about, of course - one example of what it means to continually work towards being closer to God than you ever have before. In my prayers this morning, I specifically asked that He nudge us toward truly living in the moment (every moment) with Him, and during praise and worship I felt the answer to that prayer. I’ve been doing so well in my spiritual walk in the past few days that I could have settled for where I was, but because my eyes have been opened once again I wasn’t going to let that happen. During praise and worship He called me higher, to repent of more things and commit to develop an even deeper relationship with Him. That’s when He gave me the title and subject for today’s blog entry.

"You can always get closer to Me, Tammy. You will never be close enough."

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C