Receiving the Power to Be
No Longer Defective and Powerless
No Longer Defective and Powerless
Can you run and win against men in this political climate in the nation? How about the onslaught attacking the church? Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Can You Run Today’s Race?
Jer. 12:1 Righteous are You, O LORD, that I would plead my case with You;
Indeed, I would discuss matters of justice with You:
Why has the way of the wicked prospered?
Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?
2 You have planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have even produced fruit.
You are near to their lips
But far from their mind.
Jeremiah the Prophet faced the judgement and mistreatment of God’s people. This is like the shaking we are enduring in the USA. Amid despair, Jeremiah asks God why the wicked prosper. He lists facts. The wicked rejoice while the righteous agonize. The wicked, according to Jeremiah, are planted and they took root. Their fruit is evident. Though they speak of God, their words are a cover for their dark deeds.So, why do they prosper?
Jer. 12:5 “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
6 For even your brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have cried aloud after you.
Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you.”
It is time to run and beat the speed of a horse, the speed of the strongest.adversary of God.
When we see shaking due to sin, the above scripture applies. The word compete in NLT is the word against. In Hebrew It means to “blaze up in anger, or burn, be incensed, be very wroth”. (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance).
So, if you burn over the state of affairs, and you cannot persevere with men, how can you run against the more powerful and faster. God wants His people to run against horses, to persevere against the faster and more powerful. You should have righteous anger over what is happening.The anger should push you into the prayer closet and into action. Do not fall down in exhaustion over situations of this present shaking. Today is a day to pray and proclaim what God is saying. A soldier does not quit in the middle of the battle but perseveres to win the battle for the King.
Those who persecute you or the supposed righteous God calls the “family” may smile to your face, but behind your back there is treachery. God is saying do not let the treachery of others make you fall. It will get worse during shaking. Instead, we must let His strength and comfort keep us, even if “family” betrays us. Now in this shaking we need to run with horses and not just men. Let His righteous anger push you into prayer and prayer send you to the word and both into His presence. Indeed, this place in prayer and the word gives the strength to run against the stronger and faster and prevail.
We must not shrink back in fear or succumb to comfort and apathy. Instead, rise and reclaim what Satan stole while the church slept. Even now repent of sleeping because we love comfort. We slept while the enemy sowed evil, which now bears fruit. Then we are discouraged because of what we allowed. It is time to rise up and be red hot instead of lukewarm.
Jeremiah accused the Lord of planting the wicked, but it was the Church or believers of that day sleeping, that planted the wicked.The faithfulness of God’s people holds back the evil ones.The evil are always sowing seed.The Church is the only force against Satan’s evil seed taking root and growing to subjugate institutions and nations.
We must uproot the plants that are obviously evil. If I sow beets, I can tell the difference between them and a tomato plant or a weed. My job as a gardener is to uproot the things I did not plant. Only when plants look similar to each other like wheat and tares does God tell us to wait until harvest. We too often use the wheat and tares as an excuse to do nothing.
So, what will you do during the shaking? How can you stay awake and change outcomes in lives and nations? Ask God to show you, then do what He says. He wants to teach you how to run against horses and prevail. Will you run?
Hearing and Obeying the Voice of God
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