I’ve been quiet lately. Not because life has been quiet. Oh, wouldn’t that be nice sometimes? Quite the opposite.
Sometimes, in this past year, I’ve felt pulled in a hundred different directions, with fires all around me – in my family, in the lives of friends, and in myself still. In fact, most people I know have felt that way in the past months – stretched like a rubber band pulled taunt, so tight you can pluck it, making it “twang.”
At times, those “fires” have felt like distractions to keep me from moving forward, but most of them have actually been needed situations in that Jesus has wanted me to join in the fight with Him.
I’m really not the confrontational type of person at all, but in this season, the Lord has asked me and others to count the cost, surrender all, and take a stand, using our voices, individually and collectively to confront evil.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him. They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the former devastations; they will renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.”
Isaiah 61:1-4 CSB
This passage ultimately is pointing to Jesus Christ. This is what He desires to do in us first. He comes to heal our broken hearts, to set us free from our prisons, to rebuild our ancient ruins, and devastations of many generations. It is paramount that we yield to this ongoing process.
Currently, God has asked me to take His hand and allow Him to yet again go into some places in my heart that feel completely overwhelming. At times, that can feel like the most defeating thing, to have yet another layer of pain to give to Him. Yet, I know as I yield to Him, He will meet me and bring light into my darkness, setting me free from those prison walls. He is so faithful to do that, and we can trust Him with our hearts.
“In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.”
John 1:4-5 CSB
Oftentimes, right in the middle of our own process, He invites us to reach back and help someone else. It’s a beautiful place to walk in, in the places where He has healed you, to grab the hand of another, and say, “Come, follow Jesus too.” He doesn’t wait til we are all “fixed” til He uses us to help others. He loves to use us in our weakness, allowing Him to work through us. I think it keeps us humble. I remember a minister friend of mine saying that moment we feel qualified to help someone else is the moment we aren’t.
“For he was crucified in weakness, but he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by God’s power.”
2 Corinthians 13:4 CSB
It’s not about how strong we are. It’s about our “Yes” to Him. He delights in taking the weak and downtrodden and making them into the mightiest of all warriors for Him. Weakness doesn’t disqualify us from being used by God. It’s kind of a prerequisite. I feel for survivors, especially SRA survivors; this is even more important to remember because sometimes our brokenness is so multi-faceted and multi-layered. The enemy of our soul would love nothing more than to shut us down, shut us up, and silence our voices.
You matter. Your voice matters.
God is only looking for our willingness to say “Yes” to Him. He is the light, the power, and the authority in which we stand. It’s not about how healed we are, how perfect we are, or whether we qualify. I feel probably the most unqualified I have in my life. The older I get, the less I know. But the more I am totally dependent on Jesus and his finished work at the cross, the more I see Him saying, “Honey, ok, let’s do this together. Let’s reach out to this person.” There is an overcoming that happens when I tell what Jesus has done for me already.
“They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.”
Revelation 12:11 CSB
I am not talking about jumping out prematurely to save the world. Jesus is already the world’s savior. Spiritual pride has side-whacked many a well-meaning believer. I don’t need to put God through some foolish test. Some of the most dangerous words I’ve heard from a pastor on stage was that he claimed he was God’s man for bringing down a certain stronghold in our area. It was the beginning of a very painful journey for Him and others.
Consider this key:
“Then Samuel said: Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-23 CSB
When we take a stand in our own strength, in our own human reasoning, and disobey what God has told us to do, even when the thing is good that we are doing, we are stepping into rebellion, which is like divination.
So, how do we stand then?
First, we let Jesus be our deliverer and the love of our lives. He is the one thing. He is the answer. He is our life, our hope, our deliverer, our strength, our lover, and so much more. Yield to Him. Spend time in intimacy with Him. Rest in Him.
And then obey what He says. The obeying may feel scary. It may not make much sense. If you have a foundation built of trust in Jesus, He will continue to prove to you that He is trustworthy. If you don’t have any trust in God, then tell Him that, and watch for the baby steps He gives you towards building trust. He wants you to know Him way more than you want to know Him. He also will always line up with who is in the Holy Bible. He is love, so He would never tell you to go abuse someone, for example.
Find and stay in community with others who are also submitted to the real, true Jesus, the one in the Holy Bible. Don’t try to be a lone ranger. Don’t isolate yourself, though you may want to. We need each other. If you don’t have community like that, then pray and ask God to bring it. He will be faithful to supply everything you need when you put your attention and affection on Him. He loves you so much, and He values you, your voice, your story – all of it!
My dear friends, more than ever, we need to stand from that place of intimacy with Jesus and yield to His work in and through us because we have some ancient ruins to rebuild and some devastations of many generations to raise up with Jesus. Not just our own but others as well.
If you feel overwhelmed right now by the fires around you, remember to invite Jesus into that place with you. Ask Him what He wants to be for you right smack in the middle of it, and then let Him. Let Him love on you. Let Him fight for you. Let pick up your broken pieces and put you back together again, more whole than you have ever been. Let Him give you your voice back.
You are loved! You are seen! You are known! And your voice matters!
Featured Image Image by Manfred Richter from Pixabay
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