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A People Plundered - Part 2 of 3 (Amplified Bible) To plunder, the enemy must first gain entrance either through one’s deliberate disobedience, careless neglect or a weakness. As Christians we often open ourselves to plunder through gates to the self. Five of these soulish entryways which correspond to the sensory gates range from anxiety to expectations. Anxiety (Sight): When we lose sight of God’s ever-present sufficiency and goodness, we open the door to anxiety. Conscious and subconscious memories of previous painful experiences, failures and personal inadequacies obscure our vision, causing us to view the present with despair and the future with uncertainty and dread. Lost in the resultant plunder are our trust in God’s available and redemptive healing power for today as well as His mercy for tomorrow. “[O Lord] remember [earnestly] my affliction and my misery, my wandering and my outcast state…My soul has them continually in remembrance and is bowed down within me {Lam 3:19-20}. Bitterness (Sound): As we replay mental and emotional tapes of what we have interpreted as previous mistreatments and injustices, our spiritual ears become attuned to the discord of the bitterness within our own hearts. Refusing to release our offender(s), we find ourselves bound by the same chains of resentment with which we have imprisoned them. Deafened to the Lord’s pleas for us to extend mercy and release to the undeserving, we isolate ourselves in a canyon of echoing injustices. Carnality (Smell): Lured by savory aromas of carnality, we surrender our spirits to the stench and disintegration of soulish choices. Failing to immerse our soul (mind, will and emotions) to the Lordship of Christ, we discover, though we may refuse to admit, that at best our carnal nature is but pleasingly-adorned putrification. Desires (Taste): So long as self rules, our desire for personal acknowledgement and importance manifests in the ever-increasing craving for possessions, position, power or prestige. With such statements as “I want it so badly I can taste it,” we even hear ourselves describing our carnal lusts. But like the Israelites who desired “meat” instead of God’s provision of manna, the attainment of our desires rots in our mouths. Shunning the One whose Name is like honey, the Egypt within craves a return to the leeks and garlic of this world. “[God] would feed [Israel now] also with the finest of wheat; and with honey out of the rock would I satisfy you” {Ps 81:16}. Still the invitation extends, “O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good” {Ps 34:8a}. Expectations (Touch): Just as touching involves the meeting of two objects, so too, our soulish nature demands that others, including God, touch (meet) our expectations. When these expectations, often unexpressed but present nonetheless, remain unmet, we experience distrust and eventually loss of hope in others, ourselves, and even God. Again, it is we who hold the key of release. When our self-imposed expectations are replaced with expectancy and hope in God alone (and not in the preconceived way(s) we think He should act or the situations we think He should allow), we find freedom to rest and trust in His goodness. In order to find release for ourselves and for others, we must first release God to work according to His sovereignty and not according to our expectations or desires. May we find encouragement from His Word: “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome {Jer 29:11}. Conclusion: As we allow the Holy Spirit to become the gate-keeper of our spirits He empowers us to become more attentive to and protective of our soul-gates. With each situation may we pray: Father God, allow me to view and interpret this experience from Your perspective, trusting You where I cannot see. In the midst of turmoil. let me hear what You are saying. By Your enabling, I choose to release those whom I have bound in the bitter bands of unforgiveness. Help me, Lord, to discern between the aroma of Your desired sacrifice and the stench of self-serving. May my desire to please You supercede my desires for self-fulfillment. And may my heart touch Yours as I embrace with expectancy and hope all that You desire for me to be. In Jesus’ Sovereign Name. -Ruth French November Newsletter 2003 | Response to Rebellion | Thank God for Time Pastor's Journal November 2002 | Fruitful through Affliction | A People Plundered part 2 of 3 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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