As I sit here, coffee in hand, staring at the screen, all I can think is how absolutely spoiled I am. And I don’t mean that in a #spoiled, trendy kind of way. I mean that in a humbling, on my knees, eyes wide opened, tears streaming down my face kind of way.
We have brothers and sisters in Afghanistan fighting for their lives while I just heated up my 4 hour old coffee in a microwave. What have I ever had the right to complain about? 4 hour old coffee? My internet being down? Having to eat leftovers? My lack of fashionable wardrobe? Hole in my sock? Didn’t make the MercyMe concert? Oh, fall isn’t hear yet and craving pumpkin spice? This is not it. We have not arrived.
Convicted. Humbled. Broken. We are so disconnected from what God has called us to and I am just as guilty as the next person. I am so spoiled by at-your-fingertips technology, my cushy life, and instant gratification that I can’t see past the end of my nose. I’m so-called #livingmybestlife while others may or may not know Christ and are facing a death that may or may not be eternal. This is not what we have been called to do. Our best life is in Christ. Our best life is truth. Our best life is walking by others. Our best life is giving sacrificially for the sake of another to truly know God.
I want you to close your eyes and think about John 15:13 – Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Picture a soldier, nurse, doctor, humanitarian, missionary, or even someone like you and me. Someone who volunteered to head to Afghanistan to aid in the ongoing efforts to fight terrorism, or lets label it what it really is, evil. And then I want you to picture a parent, desperate to free a child from that evil even if it means giving their life, passing their child over razor wire because they have a better chance to live in the hands of a stranger.
They aren’t worried about pumpkin spice anything. They aren’t worried about mask or no mask. They aren’t worried about vaccinated or unvaccinated. They aren’t worried about republican or democrat. They are worried about survival. Now let me take this one step further, and continue with this non-trendy, unpopular opinion. Christ didn’t die for one, he died for all. We tend to forget who that includes: the people who have a differing view as you, the lost souls serving in the Taliban, our government officials being persuaded, those shouting “let them die!”, and every other person that walks the earth. The drug addicts, the sex offenders, the homeless, the fatherless. All of them. There is not one God wouldn’t leave the 99 for.
You know what I think? The greatest deceit from the enemy is disconnectedness. Its aloofness. Its complacency. Its shouting amongst one another in our cushy lives so we don’t see the enemy sewing hate, anger, and discord. It is time to call it what it really is. It is time to call out the evil. In BIG ways. Because the evil isn’t hiding anymore. Its like prime time television, for all to see.
The greatest weapon you and I have is prayer. And you better armor up and get to battle. Because the war is coming. How do you battle? On your knees. And it isn’t “just prayer”. Its PRAYER. Fight with it through the Word:
- 2 Corinthians 10:5 – We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE to obey Christ. What does this mean? It means you examine your opinions, you compare it to what God says is right and ask yourself and the Spirit if it is true to His character. Study God’s word for that is how you know His character. God has loved you where you are at, so you should to others. That’s how you save lives.
- Ephesians 6:11-18 – Put on the whole armor of God. Every piece. You are about to step into a battle. And you are drawing on the greatest weapon known to man. Fervent prayer.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. Don’t stop. It speaks for itself. And if you feel tempted to argue, to fall into the trap of right and wrong opinion, circle back to 2 Corinthians 10:5. Take those thoughts captive. The enemy will do what he can to trip you up.
You may not be called to help Afghanistan. You may be called to help the incarcerated, the addicts, the single parents, the homeless, the parentless children or the sex offenders, and the list goes on. There is no one God won’t use and no one God can’t and won’t reach. WE ARE THE ONES WHO CATAGORIZE WHO THE SAVED SHOULD BE. And its past time to get up, armor up, and soldier on.
It is past time to pray for protection for the persecuted and to love the ones we deem “unlovable”.
That’s how you stop the evil and allow God to save the unsaved.
#spoilednomore #PrayForAfghanistan
feed yourself, girl 
Thank you for this powerful message. Our battles are not for the faint of heart and none of us are equipped for the war without God’s mighty hand. His word tells us that we are not fighting for victory, but we are fighting FROM victory. He has already won and it will all be for his glory. That being said, we are still responsible to be conquerors over what he’s given us to do. Yes, EVERY thought must be held captive, our armor must be in tact and our minds must submit daily to the constant transformation he is working in us all. If we fall we need to be quick to seek him so he can lead us back to our place. I thought that I was more prepared for battle than I actually was, but I learned pretty quickly that there is NO room for spiritual laziness. I need God’s almighty hand and presence on the front of my brain every single minute of every single day. All my hope and trust is in him, the savior that came so we all might live.
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