Return to Sender

Have you ever felt like some of your prayers were intercepted somewhere between earth and heaven, and got stamped "Return to Sender"? Recently I was thinking about that, and it occurred to me that the devil is in the business of intercepting our prayers, or the answers to them, and carting them off into his camp while leaving us to doubt or blame God when we do not see the expected results of those prayers. Of course, that is assuming that we are praying in the will of God as guided by the Holy Spirit (Jude 20). But do you realize that despite the enemy's best efforts, we can go into his camp and take back what he has stolen from us?  I think if we could ever see his backyard, it would be filled with stuff, and within that stuff are things that belong to us: our health, our finances, our relationships, our family members, our careers, and some of the other things that we hold dear. 
We are in a spiritual battle and to the victor goes the spoils!  God has given us a spiritual armor not to sit in church and look content, or to compare with others to see who has the shiniest, but rather He has equipped us for battle.  Every child of God is a participant in this battle. A closer look at the armor shows how marvelous an arsenal God has given us:
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication." (Ephesians 6:11-18a, KJV)
Notice Paul encourages us to put on the "whole armor of God."  We need every single piece if we are to be victorious.  Go back and reread the verses above.  Our enemies are no weaklings but they can be defeated. As long as we have on the whole armor of God, we have nothing to fear. We can stare down the enemy, knowing fully well that with the Lord on our side, we will have the victory. Not might have but will have.  Even if it seems as if we are losing, if we stick with the fight, getting back up after every fall, as long as we do not die fighting, we will have the victory. That really excites me. The devil is no match for those of us who are on God's side and it's about time we recognize and acknowledge that fact. What he has stolen, he has to give it back. Those prayers prayed in the will of God marked "Return to Sender" are bogus. With sword in hand, and praise on our lips, let us march into the enemy's camp and let us not leave until we take back all of that which is rightfully ours!

"Mirror" Check

As a part of our getting-dressed routine, most people spend a bit of time in front of a mirror. Whether we are staying indoors all day or going out to face the world, we want to make sure we do the best with what we have been blessed with. The mirror allows us to see ourselves as we really are, and gives us opportunities to "fix" what needs fixing. For some of us the time spent in the mirror is determined by any number of factors, but as we are all conscious of what we look like and how others see us, we primp and preen for as long as it takes; until we are satisfied that the "imperfections" have been taken care of.

 

As it is in the natural so it should be in the spiritual. Every believer who desires to grow in Christ and who desires to experience a deepening of his or her relationship with Him must constantly check themselves in the mirror of the Word. In James 1:23-25 we read, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed" (KJV). The true test of how well we are doing in our walk with Christ is not based on what others say about us, but on the what the Word reveals about who we are.

 

In his commentary on this portion of text, Bible Scholar Matthew Henry writes: "As a looking-glass shows us the spots and defilements upon our faces, that they may be remedied and washed off, so the word of God shows us our sins, that we may repent of them and get them pardoned; it shows us what is amiss, that it may be amended. There are glasses that will flatter people; but that which is truly the word of God is no flattering glass. If you flatter yourselves, it is your own fault; the truth, as it is in Jesus, flatters no man. Let the word of truth be carefully attended to, and it will set before you the corruption of your nature, the disorders of your hearts and lives; it will tell you plainly what you are."

 

As we go about our day-to-day preparations, let us remember to spend some time before the looking-glass of the Word. It will not flatter, "for the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12), but we can rest assured that if we look in it sincerely, what we see of ourselves - strengths and weaknesses - is exactly what is there. It is only then that we can ask for help and trust our Lord to help us in those areas that need "fixing". When was the last time you tried it?

He Qualifies the Called

If you didn't know anything about Moses and he walked into your church to interview for the position of Senior Pastor, would you and the rest of the Pastoral Search Committee hire him? Looking at his resume would provoke more questions than answers. His background was a bit sketchy - he fled Egypt after killing a man and then spent the next forty years on the run tending goats and sheep for a man who would become his father-in-law. Those last forty years of his life stand out because he did nothing of significance. Did I mention he was now eighty years old, had no relevant leadership experience, and had a speech impediment? Chances are good that he would not be hired by any Committee because he did not fit the profile of a senior leader. Good intentions wasn't going to cut it. The ability to communicate effectively, strong leadership skills along with the ability to plan, organize and coordinate were some of the key requirements for the position.

 

However, that is from our human perspective. Because one day while tending the goats and sheep on the backside of the desert, he had an encounter with the God of Abraham, Jacob and Issac, who - after a series of events - told him, "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:10, KJV). Moses' reaction was understandable! "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (v.11). In other words, "Who, me? Go to Egypt and lead out almost two million Israelites? God, are you crazy?" But God would not be denied; Moses was His man: "And he [God] said, 'Certainly I will be with thee'" (v.12a). Moses reminded God, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say" (vv. 10-12).

 

Do you see a bit of yourself in Moses? In looking at yourself you have no idea why God would call you to do the things He has called you to do. In your eyes and those of others, you are not qualified. Yet, of all the people that God could have called, He called you. It is important to understand that He doesn't necessarily call the qualified, but He always qualifies the called. It is not so much what you bring to Him that He needs because just as He transformed Moses' staff from a stick to a conduit of His power, so He is more than able to transform your inadequacies into conduits of His grace. It is not what we think of ourselves that is important, but rather what God thinks of us.

 

What has God called you to do that you feel you are not qualified for? Rest assured that He was intimately aware of your deficiencies before He called you yet He called you still. It is in your weaknesses that He shows Himself strong, so much so that when all is said and done, He gets the glory because you could not have done it without Him. Trust Him that He knows what He is doing. Your challenge is to go out and do as He say, knowing fully well that "certainly [He] will be with thee" every step of the way.