The Graduate-Level Test: Self-Defense

"He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." - Psalm 37:6

As a believer grows in trusting obedience and love, God often brings a test that seems uncharacteristically cruel. The test: being wrongfully judged by those close to you. It is not for the reactionary. It cannot be passed over by simply gutting it out. Supernatural grace is the only means of passing this one. It is one of those tests the Savior had to experience Himself when being tried by the court of public opinion, the religious community, and the government of His day. His response to the government was silence. His response to the religious establishment was silence at the final judgment. To the rest of His accusers He remained quiet and left vindication to the Father. He lived the commandment He gave to the disciples:

"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked" (Luke 6:35).

How do you react when you are accused or mistreated for no reason? Do you listen quietly, or do you justify each and every action? Most of us take pride in doing what is right and expect the same from others, especially our brothers and sisters in the faith. Jesus knew that if you were to be a true follower of His, you would enter this test eventually. It is part of the program. The workplace gives ample opportunity to be wronged, misunderstood, and maligned. When God brings a measured assault against one of His children, it is to find out if he truly believes in the cross. The cross is where each of us is given the opportunity to die to our pride, our reputations, and our ego. When He allows a measured assault upon us, it is to find out if the cross is sufficient. He wants to see if we will seek to rescue ourselves. Jesus said if we die with Him, we will be raised with Him. When God allows satan to bring the measured assault, ask God for the grace to cling to the cross. Let the pride and arrogance that Jesus wants to remove from our lives be crucified. Thank God for the opportunity to be crucified with Christ. Then your righteousness will shine like the noonday sun and the justice of your cause will be in His hands.

Balance the Natural and the Spiritual

"No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save" (Psalm 33:16-17).

The Bible tells us not to put our confidence in things the world considers to be our protection, defense, or strength. However, the man or woman who does not perform well on the job is left behind in today's competitive world. Not only is this typical of the world at large, but even many Christians promote the importance of identifying our strengths and encourage us to move in them to accomplish God's will. Yet, throughout the Bible, we are discouraged from depending upon our own strengths. Instead, we are urged to rely totally upon the Lord.

God wants us to depend upon Him, and He demonstrates this throughout Scripture. For example, in Judges 7, God wouldn't let Gideon fight against another army until he reduced his own from 22,000 soldiers to a mere 300, so that Gideon could not boast about his army's strength. In Joshua 6, God told Joshua to walk around Jericho seven times and blow trumpets instead of relying upon his mighty army to overpower his enemy. In 2 Samuel 24, God judged David when he counted his troops to determine the size of his army's strength, apparently because David took the census out of pride or overconfidence in the strength of his army.

On the other hand, Jesus instructed the disciples in due diligence through the parable of the builder, who is cautioned to consider the cost before beginning to build. "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish'" (Luke 14:28-30).

Today, bring every project and endeavor before the Lord as you ask for His power and grace to accomplish it using both your natural gifts and the Spirit of God working together.

Spiritual Contracts

"In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years." - Daniel 9:2

When you enter a legal contract, it binds the two parties to fulfill the terms of that contract. In Heaven there are legal contracts that, when fulfilled, allow the spiritual to impact the physical.

Israel had been in captivity to Babylon for 70 years. Daniel, when he investigated the history of his nation, found the prophecy of Jeremiah, which revealed there would be 70 years of captivity. He recognized that in order to release his nation from this captivity, there had to be a confession of sin on the part of the nation. Daniel took that responsibility. Although he could not personally repent for his nation, he could acknowledge their sin and repent himself. When Daniel acknowledged this sin before God, something took place in Heaven. God heard this prayer and responded by sending His angel Gabriel to Daniel's side.

We know from history that this was the time when Judah's return from exile began. Daniel's prayer of confession was the spiritual key to the physical manifestation of releasing the nation from captivity to Babylon.

Whenever you want to confront spiritual forces that have dominion over a situation, you must find the source of the problem. Once you find the source of the problem, you must take the necessary steps in the spiritual realm to release God's power into that situation. For Daniel, it meant taking responsibility for the sin of the nation by confessing its sins and asking forgiveness on behalf of the entire nation. This allowed God to begin the process of releasing the nation.

Ask God to show you the source of the problems that may exist in your city, your work, or people you want to see freed to fulfill God's purposes for their lives.

DELIGHT is Life “In-de-Light”

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD"  (Psalm 1:2a).

Joy, excitement, pleasure, amusement—all of these words are synonyms
for delight. So many parts of our lives delight us; our spouses, our children,
our jobs, our possessions and accomplishments; the list could go on.

When you think of the things that delight you, do you name “the law of the LORD” as
one of them?

The Bible says “the law of the LORD” is many things. It is just, it is true, it is right, and more.

The law of the LORD illuminates situations, and the law of the LORD is sweeter than all that we know as sweet. The law of the LORD provides not only correction, but it also gives protection.
The law of the LORD brings an uncommon wisdom, that which is beyond natural years. The law of the LORD shows you how to live, how to avoid evil, and how to overcome your enemies.

When you consider all that it is, you can understand why the Bible declares that delighting in the law of the LORD is something in which the blessed man engages? Are you living life “in de Light” of God’s Word?

Peace-A Weapon Against Satan

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me." - Psalm 23:4a KJV

In the battles of the workplace, your peace is actually a weapon. The workplace creates many opportunities to rob us of our peace. Cash flow concerns, deadlines, relationships - all create stress on us. Your confidence in the God of peace declares that you are not falling for the lies of the devil. You see the first step toward having spiritual authority over the adversary is having peace in spite of our circumstances. When Jesus confronted the devil, he did not confront Satan with His emotions or in fear. Knowing that the devil was a liar, He simply refused to be influenced by any voice other than God's. His peace overwhelmed Satan; His authority then shattered the lie, which sent demons fleeing.

There is a place of walking with God where you simply fear no evil. David faced a lion, a bear, and a giant. In this Psalm he stood in the "shadow of death" itself, yet he "feared no evil." David's trust was in the Lord. He said, "...for Thou art with me." Because God is with you, every adversity you face will unfold in victory as you maintain your faith in God! David continued, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (Ps. 23:5a). The battle you are in will soon become a meal for you, an experience that will nourish and build you up spiritually. Only God's peace will quell your fleshly reactions in battle. The source of God's peace is God Himself. If fear has been knocking at your door, begin to face that fear with God's peace. It is God's secret weapon to destroy fear.

One-Day Thinking

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34, NIV).

For the next six months I’m going to ___________.

For the next quarter I promise to ____________________.

This year I commit myself to _______________.
 

Tell me, does this sound familiar? John Maxwell has an inspiring card that he reads each day called, “Just for Today.” It is quite moving and it expresses tremendous goals, but each goal is prefaced by, “Just for today.”

Brilliant. I call it “one-day thinking,” and it is after all, scriptural!

“One day at a time…” is what we sing in the old hymn, but we try to live two months at a time. We worry, we fret, and we sicken ourselves over something that that might happen tomorrow.

To that I offer this response: Plan for tomorrow but live in today. Look at your goal today, be your best today, and keep your promises today. (When tomorrow becomes today—then REPEAT!)

One day thinking offers a simplified life achieving complicated goals. (We don’t have to ask, “What would Jesus do?” We already know that “one-day thinking” is what He told us to do!)

 

Lonely Days

I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father.  John 15:15-The Message

Lonely days are no fun. We all have them. Whether married, single, or divorced, you will have some lonely days. But it seems that some people have more lonely days than others. It seems that those with higher callings on their lives are usually people that struggle with loneliness. It's almost like God sets you apart or calls you out of unfruitful past friendships and relationships, and then keeps you alone to himself for a short period to work things out of you. Many of us were so dependent on a man or woman in our lives that we totally ignored God and couldn't connect with him like we needed to for our callings sake. So what did God do? Take everyone away from us for a season, so we can be with him alone. But where does the loneliness come from?

Loneliness usually comes when you have developed a need for others. I know many will agree with this, because when you have spent your life living for others, depending on people to validate you, chasing friends and friendships, always needing people around to make you feel wanted or needed, then when you are suddenly alone, you feel very lonely. But if you suffer with any of these issues, loneliness is what you need! Not forever, but at least for a season. You see, Jesus wants to be that friend you are searching for. Don't you know that God put a need for himself in your life? Your purpose lies in him, so you must know him to know YOU! Your reason for being lies in him, so you must know him to know why you are you! And when you spend your life chasing friends or using people to find yourself, all you end up doing is having a bunch of one sided relationships, or failed relationships because you are searching for answers in the wrong places. And loneliness becomes a plague to you even though being alone can be an asset. Jesus said in the Word that he is your friend and he will not leave you comfortless. Read John chapter 14 and 15 and you will see that his concern is you. He wants you to be his friend and find yourself in him! So the next time you are feeling lonely or all alone, rejoice because he is working the false friendships and relationships out of you and working on his relationship with you.

Suggested Reading - John 14, 15, 16