Raise Your Banner

Hang around me long enough and you'll learn this:  I'm madly in love with my husband.  I'm so in love that I still have a crush on him.  I could wax poetic about this man, exclaiming his virtues as father and provider and good smoocher, but my favorite thing about him is his heart for the Lord.

My husband is a church planter.  (I feel like this is a prerequisite for all female Christian bloggers of late.)  He is a trusting and courageous man who listened to that still, small voice when God told him to move.  To say I'm proud would be an understatement.  He was resolute in his desire to do what God asked of him.  And like any person beginning an arduous task, he asked for prayer and guidance from his friends; most of these fellows being pastors themselves. They rallied around Dusty and encouraged him, prayed for him, and counseled him.  Ahhh...having godly friends is golden, isn't it?

I remember vividly one of those encouragements because I thought it was so beautiful.  Nic, who is a children's pastor at Newspring, texted Dusty in the early days of our church and told him, "I want to be like Aaron, holding your hands up as you accomplish the work God has called you to do."

This, friends, leads us to a precious and mighty Old Testament moment.  It's found in Exodus 17 and recounts a battle of the Israelites and their longtime foe, the Amalekites.  As brave Joshua  goes into battle, Moses stands atop a nearby hill holding his staff into the air above the fighting as encouragement to the soldiers and in supplication to God for an Israelite victory.  His staff over the Israelite army served as a banner of sorts, a coat of arms for Yahweh; telling all that this is the cause we fight for:  God and His promises to His people.

As you can imagine, holding a large wooden staff above your head for hours on end wouldn't be easy.  (I have problems carrying more than three bags of groceries into the house from my car.)  When Moses' arms would falter, so would the Israelite army. When his arms remained high, the army would rally and advance with strength. Obviously, Moses and his banner were of utmost importance.  To help him, Aaron and Hur held Moses' arms up for him for the duration of the battle.

Needless to say, with God's help, the Israelites won.  Moses told them to build an alter at the site of the battle and call it "Yahweh-Nissi" or "The Lord is my Banner."

What an incredible thought:  accomplishing a task God has set before you or surviving a great trial or celebrating a victory under a banner which waves declaring:  I fight in the name of the Lord!

Banners are a tradition dating back to the most ancient of times.  For thousands of years armies have ridden under the banner of some king, some cause, or some country be it Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great, the Ottoman Empire, the French Revolution, or the Allies of World War II.  A banner is a fine thing - boldly declaring allegiance, stating a cause, ascribing loyalty.

We can be brave and fight for something too, right?  What banner shall we fight under, friends?  What enemy or injustice is at our door daring us to take up arms?  I serve a God who can win any battle in which I find myself.  A God with many names.  A General.  A Mighty King.  An arsenal of weapons and battle plans in His possession.  Pslam 60:4 says this:

You are a banner to those who fear you, 

so they can raise up for the truth.

I want to raise up for truth!  Can you picture it?  What a glorious idea!  

So what Name of the Lord shall I ride under?  What coat of arms is painted on my banner?

Jehovah-Jireh?  The Lord Will Provide.  (Because I'm struggling financially and I'm scared.)

Jehovah-Rapha?  The Lord Who Heals.  (Because I'm facing a scary diagnosis or nursing a broken heart.)

Jehovah-Shammah?  The Lord is There.  (Because I just need His sweet presence.)

El-Elyon?  God Most High.  (Because I've been running and I need to submit to His authority.)

Quanna?  He is Jealous.  (Because I put other things before Him.)

Or do I just need to hear Song of Solomon 2:4 and remember that "His banner over me is love?"  Because, friend, His love ripples in the wind over you at this very moment.

Did you notice Joshua's arms did not grow heavy under the physical fight?  But under that spiritual warfare?  Boy, did Moses grow faint.  

Friends, we need to call on Him.  We need to ride under His banner.  Because with it raised high we succeed, we win.  But when it falls and we're left to fight the enemy on our own, I promise, we will fail every time.

I would rather spend my life shouting the name of God than whispering my own.

Fighting under my name alone is futile.  It may look like I'm winning in the short term, but the war will ultimately be lost.  I want to raise my banner during battle and declare whose side I'm on.

Dear El Shaddai (The God Who is Sufficient for the Needs of His People),

Just as your banner defeated the Amalekites, I need your banner to defeat my enemy, too.  You are many things to those who call on your name, but above all you are Yeshua - because you "will save your people from our sins."  Yes, I will ride under the name of Yeshua, of Jesus.  The sweetest name I know.

Lord, may it be so.

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The Aim of Your Arrow

I have a confession:  only because you are my nearest and dearest will I tell you - I am secretly a tween.  You know, those precious girls from ages 10 to 12? Uh...that's actually me.  I say this because for years I have loved all things that tweens love:  Disney Channels shows dating back to Lizzie McGuire (this was when I was in college, people).  The Jonas Brothers.  Twilight.  I have been known to watch One Direction videos while my family is asleep.

I am not ashamed.

I long for a daughter for many reasons, but one of them may very well be so I can attend a boy band concert someday.

Why this obsession with tweendom?

It's easy.  It's fun.  Basically, my brain doesn't have to work too hard to enjoy it. (Don't worry, I have age appropriate interests as well.  Want to discuss your favorite wife of Henry VIII or the merits of Common Core or the latest discoveries concerning the Colony at Roanoke?  I can do that, too.)

The books of tweendom are good, too.  John Green, the Divergent Series, and, my favorite, The Hunger Games.  

I read The Hunger Games years ago when they were first released.  As soon as I could get my hands on the latest in the series I would read it within 24 hours.  If you aren't familiar with the storyline, here's a brief synopsis:

Our heroine, Katniss, is struggling to survive in a post-apocolyptic world (is there any other kind of world in young adult fiction?) where a tyrannical and manipulative government rules and demoralizes by perpetuating poverty and terror among those living in its realms.  Katniss is fierce.  She provides for her family by sneaking onto government owned lands and poaching its wildlife.

Her weapon?  A bow and a quiver of arrows.  Her aim is true and her timing is precise.  Her arrows are silent and they pierce deeply, meeting her target and ensuring food and survival for her family.

Ahh...to be like Katniss.  To be sleek and stealthy (Is this a word?  Because it sounds like a dwarf.) and powerful.  And she rocked that side-braid years before Elsa did.

All kidding aside, however - let's look waaaaay past young adult fiction to the Grandest Book Ever Written.  A book written by human hands with divine knowledge, guidance, and inspiration.  The only one of its kind.  With that I'll ask you to take a look at Isaiah 49:1-4.

"Listen to me you islands;

hear this you distant nations:

Before I was born the LORD called me:  

from my birth he made mention of my name.

He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, 

in the shadow of his hand he hid me.  

He made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.

He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display 

my splendor."

But I said, "I have labored to no purpose:

I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.

Yet what is due me is in the LORD'S hand, 

and my reward is with my God."

What is amazing about this passage is the One who is actually speaking it.  It's not Isaiah, it's not even God, the Father.  The speaker of this Old Testament passage is the Messiah - Christ Jesus Himself!

He calls for all the world to listen.  For His destiny has been named since the beginning of time.  His mouth is a sharpened sword.  No need for the Messiah to carry a manmade weapon, for just His words can cut and pierce and strike and protect.  (Are you Amen-ing?  Because I sure am.)

He is the polished arrow of His Heavenly Father.  He is the ultimate weapon against the ugliness of mankind.  And He was kept hidden until the perfect time - the time when Jesus started His earthly ministry.

Then when the time was ready and perfect, the Archer took Him out of His quiver to pierce deeply the darkest parts of man:  sin and death.

But we look to verse 4 and here is our Jesus admitting His discouragement.  Yet He believes that the strength of God will see Him through.  

                                                 

                               "But I said, "I have labored to no purpose:

I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.

Yet what is due me is in the LORD'S hand, 

and my reward is with my God."

Today I believe that God would have us to be arrows in His quiver, too. Sharpened, polished, swift, and strong.  Able to pierce darkness.

So, what's the aim of your arrow?  What has God called you into this world to pierce?  For what has He asked you to go into battle?  

Because...it's something.

Sharp, shiny arrow: what is your target?

I'm not capable, you say!  I'm too weak, you say!  I don't know enough, you say!

But I say:  arrows do not hit targets - their Archer does.  

You don't have to be capable.  You don't have to be strong.  You don't have to know it all.

But you do have to trust the aim and the precision of the One who made you. The One who designed you for your battle.  He has crafted you into the exact size, length, and agility needed for your target.  

All you have to do is be willing to fly when He places you into His bow.  Be ready to pierce!  Using the only skill an arrow needs to have:  trust that your Archer's aim is true, that His purpose is necessary, and that your flight is valuable.

I'm here to tell you that your Archer takes great delight in you.  That you are perfectly designed to meet your target.  

We share an inheritance with Jesus.  Because we have loved Him and claimed Him.  Verse 4 says, "What is due me is in the LORD'S hand.  And my reward is with my God!"  This claim is for us, too!

Where will God send you into battle?  A sick child?  A marriage that is out of love?  A deceptive friend?  An unethical co-worker?  A mission to the other side of the world?  There is no battle on this earth that you will fight that is not meant for God's glory.  There is no war that you will walk into without being under the protection of our Great Commander, if you allow Him.  There is no loss you will face that will not be multiplied for good on earth and in heaven.  

You (Yes! You!) are a mighty weapon in God's arsenal.  Be willing to take flight!  Or your design will be wasted.  Be willing to take flight and see where the Archer will send you.

Father God, You are a Mighty Warrior.  We are blessed and highly favored to go to battle as Your arrows.  Help us to be willing to take flight.  Let us see the aim of our arrow in this New Year and trust in You to meet our mark.

Lord, may it be so.

Amen.