Greetings Everyone, I am certain the entrance of 2021 has been nothing short of perplexing, disturbing, and horrific. In my own flesh, I can become worried and concerned that God is not in charge. In my mind I can say He, but my heart can lose hope.
Today as I was reading Deuteronomy 25, there was reference to Moses defeating the Amalekites. I know the story about Moses's arms being held up by Aaron and Ur to ensure the battle would be won, but I have minimized it to corporate prayer against something outside of us. Then I read a commentary stating that Amalek represents our flesh and this took on a much deeper meaning.
Prayer is a funny thing because the results are not always outwardly apparent. For me, prayer grounds me; it reinforces Who I worship and produces a heart that is confident in Who is still King and in charge. However, I realized that the minute I drop my arms out of fatigue, the inward battle takes on a life of its own in a direction of defeat. As I prayed this morning, I realized fatigue can stop me from building spiritual muscle; but the more I "raise my arms," the stronger my faith becomes.
Additionally, we need friends to pray fervently with us. There are going to be days ahead where one is discouraged, but another is encouraged. I hope I develop and maintain a heightened sensitivity everyone in my circle. We can talk till we are blue, pontificate about all that has occurred, but it won’t change a thing. The world is winding down and in Christ we need to wind up in prayer with our hands lifted, knowing that the ultimate war is won by God. The battles will tax us deeply and challenge every paradigm we have known. I have a deep choice today: either pray with my arms lifted and admit weakness to others who might be stronger at the time, OR take my hands and point horizontally and be nothing but defeated inside. In closing- the enemy would like nothing more than divided Christians. He could care less if the world is divided. That is all I will say, but I am certain each one of you knows exactly what I mean. 2021- in flesh or in spirit - the choice lies before me!
Love,
Cari