"Staying the Course"

"His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies." (Psalms 112:8)

 The thing I like most about that "fiery furnace" experience, is that they did not even smell of smoke when they came out; they were protected from everything about that experience. That is the kind of Glorious God that we serve! Listening to Pastor Matt the other day, he was speaking about how God gives us the ability to defeat a thousand of our enemies, which was a reference to Samson and his battle on the road with the Philistine army. After saying that, he said, "And how are you doing with that?" And then he started counting down, "Have you defeated a hundred?" "What about ten?" "Have you even defeated one?" "How about if one was just a big woman? Did you overcome that one?" It might seem humorous, but it is really something to think about. Pastor Jon touched on something the other day also, which was pretty much along the same line of thought. It had to do with the victory that we have in Christ, and the fact that our victory is only as strong as we make it. I guess the real question one might ask, is, What is your desire upon your enemies? I know, you are probably thinking, I don't think I have any enemies. We all have enemies! The enemies being spoken of here in this text are numerous and varied; everything from adversaries, anguish, affliction, to tribulation, trouble, and tight; even a small pebble, the little thing that gets stuck in your shoe and you can't stand it and must get it out. The question is, which ones are you going to overcome and which ones are you going to tolerate or compromise with. Tight might not seem like much to speak of, but it is a lot like narrow; restricted is the point I think we are talking about; like being bound by something and where you cannot be free to fight as you should, because you are all tied up by something restrictive. There is a little story that relates to this in 2 Kings 13:14-19, which is when Elisha told king Joash to smite the ground with the arrows, and the king smote the ground only three times. Sometimes our victories are not so victorious because we don't put as much into it as we should...

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) KJV