Thursday, March 04, 2010, 7:17 a.m. – I woke this morning with this song playing in my mind:
VOICE OF TRUTH / Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman
II Corinthians 12:7-10/I Corinthians 1:20-24
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He’s holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy, you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they’d have had the strength to stand
But the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”
But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don’t seem so high
From on top of them lookin’ down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
Every time I hear this song or read the words to it, it encourages my heart. There are so many voices calling out to us day after day. It takes much spiritual discernment to know what is true and what a lie is. We need to reject the lies of Satan that come against us daily and we need to, instead, embrace the voice of truth and to claim what we know to be true in order to come against and defeat the enemy who is definitely out to defeat us.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 6-7:
My Understanding: You know, I just feel that this song and these scriptures speak for themselves and there is really not much I can add to this. I am tired today. I identify with the feeling of being “worn out.” Many times in my life I have wept through these Psalms because I was facing what the Psalmist is describing in real time. I am still weeping, not because I am presently experiencing this kind of oppression that he describes, but because I have faced it and the enemy does regularly come after me and because I know that there are many brothers and sisters throughout the world who are facing this, and many at the hands of the U.S. government and military. And, I know, too, that this kind of oppression against believers in Jesus Christ is coming to America, as well, and has come to many in the United States of America already where we supposedly have religious freedom.
One of the greatest tactics the enemy uses against us is this feeling of defeat, worthlessness, loss of hope, feelings of helplessness, etc. He loves to tell us, “Boy, you’ll never win.” He loves to accuse by vague accusations that do not deal with specific sin so that there is no solution and you end up just feeling yucky and hopeless. I know that Satan has tried these tactics against me throughout my life, and he used the people I know and love and he used church leaders to distribute these vague accusations that do not address real situations and have no real solutions. That is when we have to know the truth of scripture so that we can combat the lies of the enemy with the “voice of truth”. We have to know the truth and we have to believe the truth and we have to apply the truth to our daily lives.
One time a pastor told me “It’s your attitude, you pray about it and you will see.” But, I had prayed about it and God had told me I was innocent in the matter in which they were coming against me. When I asked this pastor for specifics, he had none. The elders had none. Then, it surfaced – they were judging me by themselves. They were comparing my actions to their own and decided I had the same heart motivation as them, but I didn’t. This was a long time ago, nearly 30 years ago now. Good came out of it. The Lord brought much healing. This was just one example of how people in positions of authority and leadership can oppress the people underneath them with vague accusations that have no foundation. They thought I was like them. I wasn’t. They didn’t know what to do with me. So, they just rejected me.
Initially, I let their accusations discourage me until the Lord spoke to me through reading the story of Jonah and the Big Fish to one of my children, and the Lord told me to get back in there and fight this thing through. Funny, I said to God, “But you don’t understand!” At that time in my life, I truly did not comprehend the sovereignty of God and that nothing that happened in my life took God by surprise, and that there was not anything that He could not handle. I saw God as limited, not intellectually, but emotionally I did. That was another one of Satan’s lies. And, I had to go against those lies that told me, “Girl, you’ll never win.” I had to listen to the “voice of truth” that told me a different story. If I didn’t reject those lies and if I did not embrace the truth of God’s word, I would not be writing this today.
I can’t stop crying today when I read the words to these Psalms and when I read the words to this song. I have faced this so, so many times in my life. I am here to tell you that God is absolutely trustworthy. God is absolutely sovereign. Nothing takes him by surprise. Trust in His truth and reject Satan’s lies that tell you that you’ll never win. Rise up o man of God and put your armor on. Jesus gives us the victory, because he overcame on Calvary.
Soldiers of Christ Arise / Charles Wesley
Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies, through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of Hosts, and in His mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.
Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued,
But take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;
That, having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,
Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.
Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul;
Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole.
From strength to strength go on; wrestle, and fight, and pray;
Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day.
VOICE OF TRUTH / Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman
II Corinthians 12:7-10/I Corinthians 1:20-24
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He’s holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy, you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they’d have had the strength to stand
But the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”
But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don’t seem so high
From on top of them lookin’ down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
Every time I hear this song or read the words to it, it encourages my heart. There are so many voices calling out to us day after day. It takes much spiritual discernment to know what is true and what a lie is. We need to reject the lies of Satan that come against us daily and we need to, instead, embrace the voice of truth and to claim what we know to be true in order to come against and defeat the enemy who is definitely out to defeat us.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 6-7:
My Understanding: You know, I just feel that this song and these scriptures speak for themselves and there is really not much I can add to this. I am tired today. I identify with the feeling of being “worn out.” Many times in my life I have wept through these Psalms because I was facing what the Psalmist is describing in real time. I am still weeping, not because I am presently experiencing this kind of oppression that he describes, but because I have faced it and the enemy does regularly come after me and because I know that there are many brothers and sisters throughout the world who are facing this, and many at the hands of the U.S. government and military. And, I know, too, that this kind of oppression against believers in Jesus Christ is coming to America, as well, and has come to many in the United States of America already where we supposedly have religious freedom.
One of the greatest tactics the enemy uses against us is this feeling of defeat, worthlessness, loss of hope, feelings of helplessness, etc. He loves to tell us, “Boy, you’ll never win.” He loves to accuse by vague accusations that do not deal with specific sin so that there is no solution and you end up just feeling yucky and hopeless. I know that Satan has tried these tactics against me throughout my life, and he used the people I know and love and he used church leaders to distribute these vague accusations that do not address real situations and have no real solutions. That is when we have to know the truth of scripture so that we can combat the lies of the enemy with the “voice of truth”. We have to know the truth and we have to believe the truth and we have to apply the truth to our daily lives.
One time a pastor told me “It’s your attitude, you pray about it and you will see.” But, I had prayed about it and God had told me I was innocent in the matter in which they were coming against me. When I asked this pastor for specifics, he had none. The elders had none. Then, it surfaced – they were judging me by themselves. They were comparing my actions to their own and decided I had the same heart motivation as them, but I didn’t. This was a long time ago, nearly 30 years ago now. Good came out of it. The Lord brought much healing. This was just one example of how people in positions of authority and leadership can oppress the people underneath them with vague accusations that have no foundation. They thought I was like them. I wasn’t. They didn’t know what to do with me. So, they just rejected me.
Initially, I let their accusations discourage me until the Lord spoke to me through reading the story of Jonah and the Big Fish to one of my children, and the Lord told me to get back in there and fight this thing through. Funny, I said to God, “But you don’t understand!” At that time in my life, I truly did not comprehend the sovereignty of God and that nothing that happened in my life took God by surprise, and that there was not anything that He could not handle. I saw God as limited, not intellectually, but emotionally I did. That was another one of Satan’s lies. And, I had to go against those lies that told me, “Girl, you’ll never win.” I had to listen to the “voice of truth” that told me a different story. If I didn’t reject those lies and if I did not embrace the truth of God’s word, I would not be writing this today.
I can’t stop crying today when I read the words to these Psalms and when I read the words to this song. I have faced this so, so many times in my life. I am here to tell you that God is absolutely trustworthy. God is absolutely sovereign. Nothing takes him by surprise. Trust in His truth and reject Satan’s lies that tell you that you’ll never win. Rise up o man of God and put your armor on. Jesus gives us the victory, because he overcame on Calvary.
Soldiers of Christ Arise / Charles Wesley
Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies, through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of Hosts, and in His mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.
Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued,
But take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;
That, having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,
Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.
Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul;
Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole.
From strength to strength go on; wrestle, and fight, and pray;
Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day.
