Hammer on Anvil '

I have been meditating recently on 1 Samuel 15. Samuel the prophet tells King Saul that God wants
him to attack the evil Amalekites for how they treated Israel. The word from the Lord is clear; Saul is to totally destroy them. Women, children, cattle sheep -- "anything that belongs to them" (vs. 3).

Saul was not obedient, though. Thinking he knew better than God, he spared "the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs -- everything that was good." He also spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites. But "everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed" (vs. 9).

The word of the Lord came immediately to Samuel, and it was not a gentle word. God was angry, and said He regretted making Saul king. When Samuel confronted Saul about his disobedience, Saul assured Samuel that he did obey, and he only kept the "best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God."

Ah, we humans are masters of backpedaling, aren't we? When confronted with our sin, we sometimes make excuses to rationalize why we did what we did -- or didn't do what we were supposed to do. We act as if God should settle for partial obedience.

Samuel then had the difficult job of communicating God's judgment to Saul:

Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.

Ouch. I wonder if Saul thought to himself, Geez, one little mistake and I get dethroned? I've never been dethroned (except from my pride), but I have certainly been in Saul's position, where God called me on something and I tried to make excuses.

The thing Saul forgot is that God is God, as Samuel reminds him in verse 29: "He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind." In other words, God didn't change His plan to destroy the Amalekites simply because Saul decided to wing it and make a few alterations. That's call sin, my friends.

And to make it worse, Saul then pretended that he only did what he did so that he would have the choicest animals to sacrifice to God. Have you ever done that? Have you ever sinned, but tried to justify it as somehow righteous behavior?

For example, someone may boast, "I just say the first thing that comes to my mind. I speak the truth, and that's just how I am." Never mind the fact that their mouth is like a loose cannon, and leaves destruction in its wake. They conveniently forget God's warnings about the power of life and death being in the tongue. In other words, they are doing what Saul did -- their sin is obvious to everyone else, but they justify it as righteous because they are "only speaking the truth."

Another person may swear up and down that they have forgiven someone who offended them. Yet when the two happen to bump into each other in a public setting, it is painfully obvious that a grudge is still being nursed. If you try to gently confront your brother or sister about their lack of forgiveness, you may hear something like, "I told God I forgave that person; it doesn't mean I have to be civil to them." In their minds they are righteous, but they are still clinging tightly to their perceived "right" to be unfriendly and standoffish.

I am guilty in both of these scenarios, and probably a host of others. I am learning to not try to justify my sin, but to do as David did when Nathan the prophet exposed his sin with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12. He said very simply, "I have sinned against the Lord." Period.

Remember, my dear friends, we are called to live our lives according to God's standard for us, not according to what the world dictates, and not according to what we might see others doing. The next time you are tempted to rationalize your sin, spend some time in worship. As you stand naked before a holy, righteous God, you will come face-to-face with the gravity of your sin. You will also come face-to-face with a God who loves you and will forgive you, and whose Spirit empowers you to live victoriously over sin every day. Remember, the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is alive in YOU!

"You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you" (2 Chronicles 20:17).

I love Jehoshaphat. Though mention is made of him as early as the Book of 2 Samuel, we really get to know him in 1 Kings 22, where we learn he is the king of Judah. He visits the king of Israel, who is distraught that "Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria” (verse 3). The king of Israel enlists Jehoshaphat to help him, and the first piece of advice Jehoshaphat gives him is to “Inquire first for the word of the Lord" (verse 5). Wise man. It is always best to seek the Lord, no matter what sort of battle you are facing.

The more familiar passage of Jehoshaphat is in 2 Chronicles 20, where the Moabites and Ammonites are coming against Jehoshaphat. It was a vast army, and Jehoshaphat admittedly was scared. But once again, his first response is to seek the Lord. He even proclaimed a fast throughout all of Judah. As the people fasted and prayed, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, and he spoke this word of hope to the entire assembly:

Thus says the Lord to you, "Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in the battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf."

Now that's an encouraging word from the Lord when you're facing an insidious enemy who looks way bigger than you, and you know that you are helpless in your own strength. Much like when Gandalf faced Balrog in "Lord of the Rings."



Though I can't post a video because of copyright restrictions, here's what happens: Gandalf first ensures that Frodo and the gang are all safe, and then stands between his friends and the terrifying Balrog. When Balrog threatens to cross over the bridge, Gandalf holds his position tenaciously (as we are instructed to do in 2 Chronicles 20:17) and ultimately does battle with the formidable beast.

When I first saw that movie, I got what a friend of mine used to call "Holy Ghost goosebumps." It was such a powerful portrayal of spiritual warfare, and I wasn't expecting to see something so biblical come out of Hollywood (Tolkien, yes, but Hollywood, no).

You see, my friends, this is how our God does battle for us. We need to remember that the war is already won, thanks to the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. No matter how desperate things may seem, the reality is that nobody can throw anything at us that can change what Jesus has done for us. This world is not our home, friends -- and sometimes we need to cling tightly to that hope when the world gets very dark and hateful. Even if we face death, that only means we will be in the presence of our Savior!

If you are up against a Balrog in your life right now, seek the Lord's counsel. Then "Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord."

Recently God has been showing me how I have treated my relationship with Him like a contract. "Okay God, I'll get up at 5 a.m. to pray and read the Bible. YOUR part is to ________." I expected God to come through and fulfill His part of the bargain based on whether I performed certain spiritual disciplines. In short, I was telling the Creator of the universe how to do His job.


What gall! How could I treat what should be a cherished Father/child relationship as if it were a business deal? And oh, if God violated the terms of the contract, He would have some explaining to do!

I have struggled for consistency in my spiritual walk for as long as I can remember. I was constantly on the lookout for clues/solutions that would suddenly zap me into the model Christian I longed to be. "Oh, if just do this-or-that, or have this-or-that experience, I'll finally be changed!"

But notice where the focus is in these statements? It's on ME. It was all about something I could do in order to get into God's good graces. Isn't that called a works mentality?

Yes, that's exactly what it is. Much like I used to "perform" for my earthly parents in hopes that they would accept and love me, I was doing things to try to get into my heavenly Father's good graces. One thing is very wrong with this type of behavior -- you tend to forget that Jesus already accomplished everything that needed to be done. That's how He was able to say "It is finished," when He died.

As I was repenting about my callous indifference to my Father's great love, I was reminded of a Keith Green song that addressed this mindset. The first verse is as follows:

My son, my son, why are you striving? 
You can't add one thing to what I've done for you. 
I did it all while I was dying; 
Rest in your faith; My peace will come to you.

You see, my dear brothers and sisters, we don't have to strive to be in a particular position with God.We cannot make ourselves more presentable to Him than Jesus has already made us. "But," you may argue, "Faith without works is dead! I have to work for God!" Yes, in order to be a follower of Jesus, we must deny ourselves daily, take up our cross, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). But this speaks of a life totally surrendered to God, and if you are striving every day, wearing yourself out trying to be acceptable to Him, that's a sure sign you are not in right relationship with Him.

If today you find yourself exhausted and in a place of striving, I encourage you with the words of Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God." Stop focusing on yourself and what you perceive are your shortcomings and failings. Instead, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).

sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

"If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15).


Have you ever felt like you were spinning your wheels but not really getting anywhere in your Christian walk? I have felt that way many times, nearly always because at some point I had refused to obey something God told me to do.

Disobedience does not bring forth life. We can busy ourselves with all sorts of "Christian" activities, but if our heart is not yielded to God, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).

Obedience to God, on the other hand, always creates LIFE. Are you a conduit of the life-giving water that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman in John 4? Can God help himself to you anytime He pleases, for whatever purpose He pleases? Or are you so preoccupied with your own agenda that God can't even get your attention?

I think we all go through periods when we have grandiose ideas about ourselves and the things we want to do for God. Some of it may be genuine, but many times our pride and desire for recognition are behind it. We need to ask God to deliver us of ourselves so that we can enter into His purposes for our lives. Mother Teresa was a shining example of the type of humility a Christ follower must possess; she poured her life into the unlovely and the dregs of society, and the only recognition she desired was that of her Savior.

I leave you with a wonderful truth by Oswald Chambers:

My personal life may be crowded with small, petty incidents, altogether unnoticeable and mean; but if I obey Jesus Christ in the haphazard circumstances, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God, and when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed.

I remember years ago reading The Navigator, a biography of Dawson Trotman. I read it because at the time my husband and I were involved in a two-year-long discipleship training program published by The Navigators ministry. After we completed the course, we taught it for four more years. The course grounded us in our faith more than anything else we had experienced.

If you're not familiar with Dawson Trotman, he founded The Navigators in the 1930s. After seeing the benefits of discipleship in his own life, Trotman became passionate about teaching others, inspired by 2 Timothy 2:2: "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."


Converted at 20, Trotman spent 30 years pouring his life into discipling others, beginning with high school students and Sunday school classes. In 1933, Trotman and his friends expanded their ministry to sailors in the U.S. Navy. Les Spencer, one of those sailors, was transformed by discipleship -- so much so that a fellow sailor asked Spencer to share the secret of his changed life. Spencer brought the sailor to Trotman, and said, "Teach him what you taught me." Trotman's response, "You teach him!" has become a classic reminder of what discipleship is all about. Once we have been discipled, we are to disciple others. That's how multiplication works.

Spencer did teach the sailor, and soon the two men were meeting with others. Eventually 125 men on their ship were growing in Christ and actively sharing their faith. Billy Graham, then an up-and-coming evangelist, was so impressed with Trotman's method that he enlisted him to help disciple new converts who committed their lives to Christ at Graham's crusades.

Trotman wanted to challenge people to stay on task with sharing their faith, and always be in the business of discipleship. A burning question was perpetually on his lips: "Men, where is your man? Women, where is your woman? Where is the one whom you led to Christ and who is now going on with Him?"

What challenged me the most about how Trotman lived his life is that he never allowed himself sleep at night until he had told at least one person about Jesus. One night after falling into bed exhausted, he realized he had not told anyone about the Lord that day. He told God he would witness to two people the next day to make up for it, but was not able to rest. He got up and began to drive around, asking God for an opportunity to share the gospel. He picked up a commuter who was walking to his car, and proceeded to share his faith, and the man accepted Christ.

John 15:13 says there is no greater love than to lay down your own life for another. That's how Trotman lost his life at age 50. Ten people attending a Christian conference were in a speed boat, when suddenly a big wave hit. Trotman and a young girl were thrown overboard. He held her head above water until the boat circled back to them. As the girl was lifted to safety, Trotman sank beneath the water and disappeared from sight. 

I am woefully and sinfully inadequate when it comes to evangelism. I am praying for God to open my eyes so that I see others as He sees them, and am asking Him to break my heart for the lost.

Why are we so reticent to share the greatest news anyone could ever hear? Are we just so busy with our own lives that we can't be bothered about where other people might spend eternity? 

I am grateful for those who prayed me into the kingdom -- for the ones who sowed the seed, the ones who watered and cultivated. Let's be grateful enough to God that we truly want to see His kingdom come and His will to be done. Begin your day asking God for opportunities to share the love of Jesus, and then walk through the doors that He opens for you.