The Father is not content until you are overwhelmed, until the very fabric of your personality is totally riddled with who He is, until you are overwhelmed in your heart, in your thinking, in the way you see, in the way you speak, in the way you stand, in the way you walk, in the way you engage with people.
~ Graham Cooke
The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
—Exodus 33:14
Oh beloved, it is true. We are in a dual-fronted battle. And it is an odd battle, because the war is truly already over. Even so, the post-declaration skirmishes are happening across the theatre of action. And to win any battle, it is vital that we know our enemy (s).
First, crouched and set to pounce on one front are spiritual forces of wickedness and darkness in realms unseen by human eyes who, temporarily, still have the freedom to harass the victors. And then poised within the victors themselves is the other front. The flesh declared dead by reckoning true the finished work of the Author and Finisher of our faith still sends out impulses like the phantom pain felt by amputees.
And on both fronts, the strategy for battle is the same as any well-fought war. The strategy of an aggressor is to wear down the ones being attacked and to decimate that opponent’s willingness to fight.
As in this spiritual battle, it is actually impossible in any conventional sense, to totally destroy the target being attacked. No army can decimate an entire country. So, again the work of an aggressor is to remove the “sense” that a battle can be won. Once an army has given up hope, it is as good as destroyed. And both of the aggressors against a believer’s spirit (the flesh, and powers of darkness) are exceedingly good at this strategy.
They are relentless. The battle is so fierce that the only thing that can win this epic battle is not a thing, it is G_d Himself. And yet, it is we ourselves who are under attack. What to do?
Can this fool of a writer preach for a moment? We know that G_d is everywhere, and that He is infinitely powerful. But, there is something else we have a hard time getting our heads around. The presence of G_d is also Someone, and this One respects our space and will not invade it unless we allow it to happen. And so, when we feel like we are alone, it is simply because we either will not believe G_d is with us (read in us, and working through us), or we are denying Him access to our lives.
However, upon yielding to the goodness of the only One who is good, something amazing happens. We begin to realize that the presence of G_d is not just the warmth and joy of Him filling the G_d-shaped vacuum in our souls (though it is that)… It is an awareness that His presence does indeed pervade the entire fabric of the universe… It is a conviction that all is well… It is an enormous infusion of the Blessed Hope that G_d has already won the battle over sin and death at the cross and in His resurrection.
And once this happens, we are filled with a joy inexpressible in words, but which does manifest in a diamond-hard strength which more than overcomes the enemies who are trying to wear us down. For, once again, we have simply become aware that the war is already over, and we are almost Home.
Feeling down brothers? Time to allow Him to show you what is really happening!
