A Small Voice in a Shouting World

The following was written on December 13th, 2018. I’m not sure why I didn’t publish it then, but I am going to publish it now. I believe it still has some great advice:

I just completed directing a play entitled, “The Beams Are Creaking” by Douglas Anderson.  What a great playwright.  The play is about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Christian pastor who spoke up against Hitler during the persecution of Jews and other atrocities. He was executed for treason a month before the war ended.   

During this production, I couldn’t help but wonder, would I be able to be strong against evil, as was Dietrich and his fellow anti-nazi team?  As a Christian in America, so far, I have not had to defend my faith or fight for what is right against horrific devilry in that capacity.  However, I may have to face a decision like Dietrich had to face before my earthly life is finished.  The worldly climate is certainly interesting right now.  The winds are changing.  What does the future hold?  I don’t know, God knows.  

So how do I get ready for a perhaps disturbing moment that requires steadfast faith and loyalty to our one true God, Jesus Christ?  The Bible says put on the whole armor of God.  How do I do this?  Firstly, I make a decision to get to know Jesus daily.  Every moment putting Him first.  I will diminish myself, my wants, my desires, my needs and magnify His.    Secondly, I pray.  The Lord requires us to pray to Him.  He wants us to communicate with Him.  Why, you may ask? I could go into a lot of theories, scripture, ideas, but the bottom line is He has told us to pray.  So let’s just practice obedience, for the sake of time, and just do as He has asked.  Shouldn’t we start trusting that He may have an excellent reason? He also wants us to praise and worship Him.  Does this benefit Him?  Does He have some super ego that needs to be inflated?  Goodness, No!  Worshipping Him and praising Him fulfills us!   Our needs in our soul, heart and mind are fulfilled when we worship Him.  It’s part of having the armor of Christ on us.  Thirdly, pray for guidance and don’t leave out discernment.  We want to clearly hear the direction of Jesus. Also, pray for others, pray for those you love to draw close to Jesus so He will draw close to them (James 4:8), and pray for those who are against God.  Pray for those on whom satan has a stronghold.  The power of prayer is tremendous.  Believe in it, practice it, and use it, constantly. 

It is being revealed to me the depth of malevolence that is going on in this world.  I thank God for the Christians in the world who have been praying and repenting. I believe those prayers and actions are being heard by God and He is responding.  I am only recently starting to be on board the serious train of enlightenment where I see the desperate necessity of prayer and asking for God’s help and intervention. 

Where have I been?  Oh, I know, I have been distracted by a whole mess of details that have kept me stressed and pulled in many different directions, overwhelmed and blinded  by high impact emotions regarding insignificant trivia all the while a very real powerful spiritual warfare is going on all around me.  Well, I may have been asleep up to this point, but I will now begin to show up and be available and ready for Jesus’ army.  I will pray for courage, strength, discernment, kindness, and love to carry out my assignment that God may have planned for me.  I strongly encourage you, in Christ’s love, to do the same.  May “the peace of God which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7.