I can't say I was listening out to God speak today. For some reason, my mind kept wandering to many places, most of them indistinguishable or impossible to remember. There hasn't been very much work to do in school, and most of the time is spent just planning the productive things that could be done in the meantime or in the near future.
What this also led to is not very healthy. I begin to take my eyes off things above and focus on things below. We plan plan plan, do do do, and get lost in these things. Even prayer becomes a chore to be postponed, fasting becomes a delayed meal or something we make up for during breakfast and dinner, and then we ask God why He isn't speaking. Silly isn't it? I can't say for sure if God was silent or my ears have not been properly trained to listen out for His voice today, but I do know that such days are bound to happen.
So I didn't hear anything. I decided then to flip to the Bible to see what the Good Book says about God's protection. The agenda for prayer today is protection for the leaders and youths as we embark on revival. My QT material provided very good insight, but nothing relevant to protection, at least directly.
What did I find? Two verses that stood out quite prominently to me.
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
(Psalm 33:20)
O my Strength, I watch for you; you, O God, are my fortress,
(Psalm 59:9)
What the two verses had in common was this, the concept of watching and waiting. God provides protection like a shield and a fortress. As we look forward and pray for revival, I take comfort in the fact that God is already there, like a fortress, our home base, where soldiers recover from the wounds of battle and stand ground against the enemy. In addition, I hope and I find joy in the fact that God will be our shield. Revivals are in fact offensive weapons, and a fortress is too large to move, but shields can be moved. So as we wait in hope for the Lord, we're also in fact waiting for the Lord's signal to come out of our fortress to attack.
Sometimes the Lord's silence is like asking us to hold back. Only by His command will we go forth together and attack. But for some of us, the enemy might be pressing in hard on all sides, trapping us in our fortress, and pumping stress on the same walls the Bible says will never fail. But often, as we see our Commander's silence, we begin to feel that maybe the walls might collapse if this keep up.
Then we see an opening, there is hope if we attack now! The enemy has become complacent! We might suffer losses as the shields are not prepared yet, but a hope of winning, yes! We turn and look at the Lord, but His eyes are still looking forward, His hand still down. He is not looking for a small victory. He is looking at a victory so immense, so large, so overwhelming that the enemy will be completely wiped out and have no choice but to flee.
So thus we continue to hope. As the shields are being prepared, we wait for the Lord's signal to attack. It may be silence now, the signal is down, but let us continue hoping and preparing so that we may be 100% effective when He gives the green light.
But for now, let us have faith in the walls of this fortress. His protection never fails, and our lives will not be taken as long as we stay within these walls. Helms Deep will not fall. When the Riders of Rohan arrive, we shall slay the enemy.
A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to. -Gandalf
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