Let Them Burn
Hey y’all! It’s been a while. There’s been a little bit going on with the addition of baby boy #4 here and a neice! I finally have a baby girl! Thanks Nat and Josh!
There is so much on my mind that I want to share and in time I pray God allows me the opportunity. It’s been a very difficult season. I do not have the words to adequately describe the pressure I have experienced over the last few months. I am constantly reminded of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:8, “we are pressed but not crushed”. How could Paul declare in the midst of what appeared to be a hopeless situation that Hope remained? He continues saying “we have the same Spirit of Faith”.
You know, it was the Spirit of Faith that made Caleb stand with Joshua and declare that the giants of Canaan were nothing compared to Jehovah of Israel. It held him for 45 years until the unbelieving generation died. Then, that Spirit of Faith enabled him to kill the giants of the mountain of Hebron and inherit his promise from God (Numbers 13, 14, Joshua 14). It was the Spirit of Faith that enabled Abraham to believe God that he would be the father of many nations, long after that was plausible (Romans 4:18-22).
Paul knew that the physical pressures he was dealing with were nothing in comparison to the force they were pressing against, God’s Spirit inside of him. 1 John 4:4 tells us that the Greater One lives in us. The force of the pressure in life cannot compare to the staying power of Spirit of the Living God.
They’ve tried and He busted hell wide open, literally.
The struggle is our vision. What do we see? Do we see that we are hedged in, pressed, on every side? Do we see that we are troubled and oppressed in every way? Do we relive the embarassements we’ve suffered, unable to find a way out? Or do we see that given his best shots, the prince of the powers of darkness is still screaming at the top of his lungs,
WHY WON’T YOU GO DOWN?
Paul said, “We are troubled on every side. We suffer embarassments and are unable to find a way out. We are pursued and hard driven.” But he also said, “We are not crushed. We are not in despair. We are not deserted. We are not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
Satan likes to create urgencies, smoke screens designed to make sure we are spinning in circles rather than sitting at Jesus’ feet. Jesus never rushed. He was never pushed. He even “missed” Lazarus alive because he stayed longer at the place he was (John 11:6). Remember the ruler of the synagoge and his daughter? Jesus stopped and ministered to the woman with the issue of blood on the way to heal his daughter. She died too, by the way. In both of those accounts Satan seemed to have won. God seemed to have missed His moments. But Truth was revealed. Jesus was glorified and the Father was revealed. Satan couldn’t stop the Goodness of God from manifesting even in the face of death.
The severity of the natural circumstance didn’t give Jesus anxiety. He trusted the One Who sent Him. I trust Him too.
The same Spirit that empowered Jesus and Paul also empowers me. I don’t have to run with a bucket of water to try to put out the fires Satan fans. Let’s face it, my efforts would be futile and exhausting…ask me how I know… Instead I’m going to go spend some time with the Holy Spirit, listen and then do as He directs me to do.
As I’m writing, I keep hearing this:
When Satan tries to get you worked up over the fires, let them burn. I always bring beauty from ashes.