Here at SelahV Today, my readers have come to trust a rather upbeat, potpourri of posts from me. For nearly 4 months, I have been in a funk that would bore you to tears if I tried to explain the why of it all. Suffice it to say, the enemy is alive and well on planet earth, my friends. The Bible warns us that he is "like a roaring lion, traveling to and fro, seeking whom he may devour". I didn't notice his growl.
We are forewarned to "put on the whole armor of God" to ward off his assaults and stand our ground in Christ's power. I think I forgot a piece or two of my equipment. We cannot trust in chariots or horses from some foreign land for our own faith and our own understanding. We can only "trust in the Lord with all our hearts and acknowledge Him" as the one who keeps us in the paths of His righteousness and order. Not any man. None.
Sometimes the ones who seem the strongest among us are the weakest. I've learned this truth in ways I wish I didn't have to confess. But it's true. And when that occurs, our trust in man and his fraility is all too apparent in our own walk with the Lord. We soon find ourselves off the grassy path of peace and onto a well-trod path of war with folks we never dreamed possible. Kinfolk. Brethren. It's a path we think is noble at times. A path we must walk upon to right a wrong, to challenge a falsehood, to defend a truth, to forge a new pathway. And...
If we are not vigilant, the tares will wind their vines around our legs and sneak their way up around our necks and choke the life out of us, so that we no longer breathe or see beneath the leaves of discontent, dissent, and controversy. Our voices become hoarse, our cry is barely heard in the fields white unto harvest. And, well, the "moth and rust" eventually robs us of our joy, our hope, and our desire to care one way or the other.
From watching the infiltration of unsavory viewpoints beat down upon what I once considered a band of faithful brethren, I am totally without ideas. I am empty of solutions. I am speechless and inept and wisdom fails me.
Therefore, I am going to do what I have always done here at SelahV Today. I am going to keep writing the thoughts the Lord lays upon my heart and try and make a bit of sense of "today" and see if tiny things I see are as significant to others as they are to me.
I haven't been at peace for several weeks. I wandered upon a knoll on which I had stopped grazing...and began to eat of the fodder. Since then, I have struggled to keep my eyes on Jesus and the purpose He has for me. I've let the enemy drag me into a woodpile of burning embers of animosity and sin, and found myself digging through the ashes of discord, pride and ego. It weighed me down, my friends. It surely did.
God is a merciful God. His mercies are new every morning. Have you found yourself in a minefield of frustration? Have you wondered how in the world you landed where you are? Have you questioned the ground you stand upon? Have you allowed the foundation of your faith to be so shaken by the evils of man that you struggle to dwell on that which is pure and good and positive? Have you lost trust in others and doubt your own worth in the world around you?
May I remind you that in Jesus, you are an heir of all He is? His riches are unending. His glory is incomprehensible. His peace beyond all understanding. His goodness beyond all measure. His love unceasing and His power unequaled. Rise up, my friends. Walk away from the quagmire of faithlessness. Set your sights on things above. Live today as if everything you do is eternal. Trust only in God-- and let Him lead you by the still Waters of His Word...He will never ever let you down. selahV
