No Time to Hide

 
In light of the recent events in America, we as Christians must stay grounded in the Lord and put our trust in Him like never before. Satan intended to do more than kill thousands of people on September 11, he wanted to use the terrorists to strike TERROR in the hearts of people.

Terror is the highest form of fear - and fear is the exact opposite of faith. Faith makes provision for God to work in our lives and fear makes provision for the devil to operate in our lives. Since September 11, stories of possible future terrorist attacks have filled the news and this only promotes the spirit of fear.

We must understand that fear is not just a natural emotion but there are also demon spirits of fear that come to magnify fear and cause torment in peoples lives. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

In Mark chapter 5 there is a story about a man who came to Jesus and asked Him to come and pray for his daughter who was very sick. On the way there some men from this man's house met them and told the man not to trouble Jesus any longer because his daughter had died. The very first words that Jesus spoke to him were, "Be not afraid, only believe."

Just recently a third person was reported to have been in contact with the deadly anthrax virus that has already killed one man in Florida. The threat of a wide-spread biological attack that could kill thousands more than the September 11 attack did is a very real one. So in the light of these troubled times in our nation how can we as Christians protect ourselves and our loved ones from future attacks?

The answer: know your covenant with God and enforce it with prayer and confession.

The Bible is absolutely filled with God's promises to provide divine protection for His people. Psalm 34:7 says "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them." It is so comforting for me to know that even when I am not able to protect myself and my family, that I can depend upon heavenly assistance to come to my rescue.

Another scripture that I love is Psalm 20:6, "Now I know that the Lord saveth His anointed; He will hear him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand (v. 7) Some trust in chariots, and some in horses…"(and might I add gas masks and concrete bunkers )…"but we will remember the name of the Lord our God."

This is not the time for Christians to go hide away in a cave and pray for the rapture. This is the time to preach the gospel and work miracles in Jesus name and show the world that we don't just have another dead religion but our God is alive and He is able to protect us from harm and danger. It is disturbing to me to hear us preach about a supernatural God but when it comes time to prove to the world that He is a supernatural God we suddenly don't believe it as strongly.

The Bible is filled with story after story of real life and death situations where God intervened and protected His servants from certain destruction and guess what…He hasn't changed! I wish I could tell you that we had the promise that things were going to get better in our world but we don't.

As a matter of fact, the Bible says that in the last days evil shall get worse and worse. So knowing this does that mean that Christians should hide away and have round-the-clock prayer services asking Jesus to come back? NO! I don't mind telling you that I am not ready for Jesus to come back yet because there is still too much work to be done and too many people going to hell.

I can tell you prophetically that in our world it is not as dark as it is going to get, but I believe that the darker it gets in the world the brighter the true church of Jesus Christ will shine.

Look at these scriptures in Isaiah 60:1, "Arise and shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee (v. 2). For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee." Church, this is our hour to shine but we can't shine if we are spending our time worrying about what the devil is going to hit us with next. Lets hit him next!

I want to give you a few practical things that you can do to enforce this divine heavenly protection over you and your family.

1. Spend time with God daily in prayer. This helps to keep your heart sensitive to His voice and His promptings.
2. Take the time to search the scriptures and find the promises that God speaks to His people regarding divine protection.
3. Let the Holy Spirit be your daily companion. Talk to Him and listen to Him throughout the day. There may be a life-saving decision that He wants you to make that day. (For example: don't take that plane and wait for the next one; take a different route to work today, etc.)
4. Refuse the spirit of fear when it tries to come on you and rebuke it in Jesus name.
5. Plead the blood of Jesus over you and your loves ones daily.
6. Seek to walk in God's perfect will for your life and not your will for your life. God showed me several years ago that I am the safest when I am in His will. When I step out of His will I also step out from under the shelter of His protection.
7. Walk in faith and confess the Word of God no matter what the circumstances look like.

God bless you and keep you under the "shadow of His wings" and remember: No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper!