In the past few days I have been shown that there are MANY spiritual battles being raged around me. I have talked to many that said they have spent time on their knees and in tears for loved ones who are turning from God and giving in during these trying times. God has promised to fight these battles with/for us. We know He gets the victory in the end. But I want to see victory in EVERY battle I face. I don't want to see my friends turn from God. I don't want to see anyone hurt by the actions of others or by following false teaching. So, how do I keep from being discouraged when I am hurting and I see many others hurting.
The clear answer is get in God's Word. Ask the Holy Spirit for reveal His truth (from the Bible, not man's writings). God's promises in His Word are real. Trust in them.
Isaiah 40: 28-31
v. 28 "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding."
I am so thankful for the words "fainteth not, neither is weary". He never gets tired! He continues on in the spiritual battles of life with out feeling faint or weary. I will be honest- I have had moments in the past week that I feel faint and weary. The constant attacks of the enemy are hard to continue against. I am not the only one to get weary. David talks about being weary Psalm 69:3 "I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. " Have you cried so much your eyes ache? This weekend I did. The pain of the battle is real.
v. 29 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength."
Our power cometh from Him and Him alone! He promises that he will give power and increase strength. I think of Gideon when I think of impossible battles. Gideon/' army was nothing compared to the enemy BUT with God on his side he was able to defeat the enemy. That is us! I am nothing alone. But Luke 1:37 "For with God, nothing shall be impossible"
v. 30 "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:"
This verse also tells us that many will fall. I have been heartbroken at the ones I have seen recently fall. People that I have admired and learned from. People I have seen drawing others to Christ and growing spiritually. I can not explain it! I am supposing they got weary. They stopping seeking God first? They sought after people rather than God? They sought for personal gratification? They got fooled by wrong doctrine? They let their guard down? They got tired of waiting for God to work fast enough? They stopped reading their Bible? All these things are possible. I don't have the answer. I know there are times I get weary of waiting for God to win the war. We seem to be losing the little battles. Families torn apart. Ministries destroyed. Hearts pulled away from God. People turning their backs on friends because they want what they want or to believe what they want. Whether it be selfishness or pride. It is like the verse said they "utterly fall".
So what do we do. We see the destruction. We feel the pain. We try to guide and counsel. Share scripture of truth to guide them back to God. We pray and pray and pray some more. And then pray some more. But they still walk away. And the enemy attacks because we are weary. Yet, God instructs what we should do when we are weary.
Galatians 6:9 " And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
2Thessalonians 3:13 "But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing."
The end of the verse in Psalm from David says "while I wait for my God". God asks us to pray. God tells us to wait.
v. 31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
When we wait, we receive strength. When we continue to seek Him He rewards. Yes, the answers may not come as we want or when we want. But his way is perfect. Another verse that comes to my mind is a verse God gave Doug and I when we were waiting for God to give us children.
Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait FOR him.
Many know the verse Isaiah 40:31. Wait upon. But this last verse says "wait for" He has a reason that he waits to answer and waits to reveal the win. Even when I don't understand. Which right now I do NOT get it!!!! He has a reason. I found this poem several years ago and I have shared it before and shared it will many friends. It helps me to get a perspective of possibly why he waits.
W A I T
By Russell Kelfer
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, “Wait,”
“Wait? You say wait?” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers. I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I relate hangs in the balance,
And you tell me to Wait?
I’m needing a ‘yes,’ a go-ahead sign.
Or even a ‘no,’ to which I’ll resign.
You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.”
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, “Wait.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting . . . for what?”
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
And He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.
You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.
You’d never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.
You’d never know should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But oh, the loss, if you missed what I’m doing in you.
So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer all is still . . . Wait.”
The end of the Galatians verse says "for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." The key is not fainting, not falling. I don't know the pain of the battle you feel today. Battle wounds are real yet each is different and personal. I do know that I MUST keep on keeping on.
A friend going through some of the same battles I am, shared these verses with me yesterday.
I Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
And yes, I know right now it seems impossible. There is no good or even end in sight. Yet, I know that I am trusting and believing in a God of miracles.
I almost didn't post this but I pray that it will be a help and blessing to someone as these thoughts were to me.
Psalm 31:24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
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