I know that through your prayers and the
help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
what has happened to me will turn out for my
deliverance. (Phil. 1:19)
In various
places, Paul lists the horrendous
persecutions he went through, many of them
not even mentioned in the Acts of the
Apostles. As the devil roused intense storms
against God’s foremost preacher, we know
that he was beaten with rods on three
occasions. Contemporary descriptions reveal
this to have been a horrifying and life
threatening ordeal. He was also shipwrecked
on no fewer than three occasions, on one
occasion spending a whole night and a day
adrift in the ocean. A lesser man could so
easily have said ‘enough is enough’ and
refrained from setting out on any more
perilous journeys.5
I remember
hearing Billy Graham speaking in Oxford a
day or two after he had fallen in the shower
and broken some ribs. He confessed that like
any sixty year old he would dearly like to
play golf and put his feet up – but because
he knew the unique calling that God had
placed on his life he declared his firm
intention to keep going – and so he did, for
a further twenty years of remarkable front
line service.
One evening,
anarchists burst into the Town Hall, letting
off fire alarms, cutting TV cables and
shouting obscenities. The sense of evil was
palpable – yet far more people responded to
his gospel message that evening than any
other. It is a comforting (and important) to
remember that the Lord can still work when
storms are raging and circumstances appear
entirely unpromising. Even when evil does
strike, the Lord can still bring good out of
it.
Never forget
the angels who strengthened Paul at his
moment of extreme need, just as they
ministered to Elijah and Jesus in situations
that called for supernatural resources.6
God’s heavenly messengers have a vital role
to play in serving us as we set out to
accomplish the Lord’s assignments.
| |
Given that most
of us feel as though we are facing about as
much pressure as we can handle, it may or
may not help to realise that our plight
barely registers on the Richter scale of
suffering when set alongside what our
brothers and sisters are going through in so
many parts of the world.
Although most
of us may not be experiencing physical
persecution, many of us certainly do know
what it is like to be judged, controlled and
misrepresented. In the privacy of our
hearts, we experience the temptation to play
(endlessly!) the words and events that have
caused us so much pain. Left unchecked,
these far from still small voices risk
achieving the devil’s objective by crushing
our faith to the point where we are prepared
to tone down the scale of our Christian
service.
What is
happening is that the devil is dangling a
subliminal contract before our eyes: ‘If you
will just stop troubling me, I will leave
you alone!’ All this happens, of course, at
an out of sight subconscious level, imposing
enough pressure to make us want to give up,
whilst doing all he can at the same time not
to reveal his hand in causing it. Once we
become wise to what is going on, the chances
are that we will come out of our corner with
weapons of faith blazing.
Don’t give
in! Refuse the compromise! Don’t allow your
spirit to become ‘stuck’ because of things
that people have said or done. Forgive the
parents, siblings, offspring, colleagues,
employers, pastors and whoever else has
caused you such distress! |
|
For
Reflection and Prayer
| |
The great
revivalist Finney once said, ‘Anything is
possible, provided only that we are willing
to forgive.’ By the way, it is all but
impossible to resent someone you are praying
for! In
Your name we bless those who have disturbed
our peace and proved overprotective,
under-imaginative or downright wrong in
their counsel. We ask Your forgiveness for
all the times that we have been just as
unable to get inside someone else’s calling
and have disturbed their peace.
We also ask
You today to grant strength and wisdom to
all who are in extreme need. Send Your
angels to minister, and let the power of God
be poured out in miraculous power,
especially . . . . . . . . . and . . . . . .
. . .
In
Jesus’ name, Amen. |
|
|
