Bullies

 

Bullies

Be strong! Be fearless! Don’t be afraid and don’t be scared by your enemies because the Lord your God is the one who marches with you. He won’t let you down, and he won’t abandon you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Why anyone would pester Charlotte is beyond me. If the sweet, little face of this ten-year-old doesn't melt you, her cherubic voice will. But a bully tried to stir up some trouble one day. Intimidation tactics, pressure, names, threats – the pest tried them all. But Charlotte didn't fold. And in the end, it wasn’t her big brown eyes or infectious smile, but her faith that pulled her through. The older student warned Charlotte to prepare for battle. "Any day now I'm coming after you." But Charlotte didn't flinch or cry. She simply informed the perpetrator about the facts. "Do whatever you do," she explained rather nonchalantly. "But just know this: God is on my side." Word has it that the threats have ended.

School bullies may not await us any longer, but funeral homes do. Job transfers and fair-weather friends do. Challenges are the potholes of life. So, where do we find the energy to face them? God never promised an absence of distress, but he does promise the assuring presence of his Holy Spirit. And at first blush, a person might assume that the Holy Spirit is all about the spectacular and stupendous. We’ve all seen the television images of sweating preachers, fainting and falling audiences, and questionable miracle working, right? While no one would deny the astonishing nature of the Holy Spirit's work (like tongues of fire over the apostles' heads), a focus on the phenomenal usually causes us to miss the Spirit’s quieter, stabilizing work. The Holy Spirit invisibly, yet indispensably, serves as a rudder for the ship of our soul, keeping us afloat and on track. So, take heart. This isn’t a solo journey. The next time you feel as though it is, review some of the gifts the Spirit gives. For example, "you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance." (Eph. 1:13-14)

Interesting word choice. The verb “sealed” conjures up a variety of images. To protect a letter, you seal the envelope. To keep air out of a jar, you seal its mouth with a rubber-ringed lid. To keep oxygen out of wine, you seal the opening with a cork. To seal a deal, you might sign a contract or notarize a signature. Sealing declares ownership; it secures contents. The most famous New Testament "sealing" occurred with the tomb of Jesus. Roman soldiers rolled a rock over the entrance and "set a seal on the stone." (Matt. 27:66) Archaeologists envision two ribbons stretched in front of the entrance, glued together with hardened wax bearing the imprimatur of the Roman government. It was as if to say, "Stay away! The contents of this tomb belong to Rome." Their seal, of course, proved futile. But the seal of the Spirit proves forceful.

When you became a Christian, God sealed you with the Spirit. "Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit." (Eph. 1:13) So, when hell's angels come seeking to snatch you from God, the seal turns them away. He bought you, owns you and protects you. God paid too high a price to leave you unguarded. As Paul writes later, "Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption." (Eph. 4:30)

Your Father has no intention of letting you fall. You can't see him, but he’s present. You are "shielded by God's power." (1 Pet. 1:5) He is "able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy." (Jude 24) Ponder that truth. God is able to keep you from falling. So, does he want you to live in fear? No. Just the opposite, actually. "The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, 'Father.' And the Spirit himself joins with our spirits to say we are God's children." (Rom. 8:15-16) That’s a pretty intriguing thought.

Deep within you, God's Spirit confirms with your spirit that you belong to him. Beneath the vitals of the heart, God's Spirit whispers, "You’re mine. I bought you and sealed you, and no one can take you." The Spirit offers an inward, comforting witness. He’s like a father who walks hand in hand with his little boy. The child knows he belongs to his daddy, his small hand happily lost in dad’s. He feels no uncertainty about his father’s love whatsoever. But suddenly the dad, moved by some impulse, swings his boy up into the air and into his arms and says, "I love you, son." He puts a big kiss on that bubbly cheek, lowers the boy to the ground, and the two go on walking together. Now, has the relationship between the two changed? On one level, no. The father is no more a father than he was before his expression of love. But on a deeper level, yes. The dad drenched, showered and saturated the boy in love. God's Spirit does the same.

"The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Rom. 5:5) Note the preposition, “of.” The Holy Spirit pours the love “of” God in our hearts, not the love “for” God. It’s like God hands a bucket of love to the Spirit and says, "Drench their hearts with my love." Has it been a while since you were drenched with the Spirit? If so, then tell him. He's listening to you – and he's speaking for you. “In the same way, the Spirit comes to the aid of our weaknesses. We do not even know how we ought to pray, but through our inarticulate groans the Spirit himself is pleading for us, and God who searches our inmost being knows what the Spirit means, because he pleads for God's own people in God's own way.” (Rom. 8:26-27)

The Spirit comes to the aid of our weaknesses. That’s a verse worthy of a highlighter because who doesn’t need that kind of reminder? Weak bodies. Weak wills. Weakened resolves. We've known them all. The word “weakness” can refer to physical infirmities, as with the invalid who had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years (John 5:5), or spiritual impotence, as with the spiritually "helpless" of Romans 5:6. Whether we are feeble of soul or body, or both, how good is it to know that it's not up to us but that "the Spirit himself is pleading for us."

Many years ago, there was a White House briefing on the AIDS crisis. While most of the attendees represented relief organizations, a few ministers were invited. The agenda of the day included a Q & A with a White House staffer charged with partial oversight of several billion dollars earmarked for AIDS prevention and treatment. There were lots of questions. How does one qualify? How much can an organization hope to receive? What are the requirements, if any, for using the money? Most of the questions came from organizations. But one came from a minister who had a heart for AIDS victims.

"One of my friends in Miami is dying from AIDS. He spends two thousand dollars a month on medication. With insurance balking at coverage, I'm wondering if I might find him some assistance." The White House policy staffer was surprised, but polite. "Uh, sure. After the meeting I'll put you in touch with the right person." Determined to bring the problem to the top of the food chain, the minister remained standing. He held up a few sheets of stapled paper and said, "I brought his documents with me. If more is needed, I can run them down." The staffer remained polite. "Absolutely. After the meeting." The staffer then fielded another question or two from those assembled when he noticed the minister had raised his hand again. This time the preacher went to the bottom line. "I'm still thinking of my friend," he explained. "Who signs the checks?" "Excuse me?" "Who signs the checks? I just want to talk to the person who makes the decisions. So, I want to know, who signs the checks?" Does the bedridden friend in Florida have any idea that his cause is being presented just a few hundred feet from the Oval Office? And do you have any idea that your needs are being described in heaven, even now?

The Holy Spirit "prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will." (Rom. 8:26-27) The AIDS-infected man had no voice, no power and no influence. But he had a friend. And his friend spoke on his behalf. The impoverished orphan of Ethiopia, the distraught widow, the aging saint in the convalescent home – they all may think they have no voice, no power, no influence. But they have a friend – the Spirit of God who speaks the language of heaven.

It's not up to you to pray your prayers. None of us pray as much as we should, but all of us pray more than we think, because the Holy Spirit turns our sighs into petitions and our tears into pleadings. He speaks for you and protects you. He makes sure you get heard. He makes sure you get home. Now, suppose a person never hears this, never learns about the sealing and intercession of the Spirit. This individual thinks that salvation security resides in self, not God, and that prayer power depends on the person, not the Spirit. What kind of life do you think that person will lead? A parched and prayerless one. Fighting to stay spiritually afloat drains him. Thinking she stands alone before God discourages her. So, they live in a spiritual desert.

But what about the one who believes in the work of the Spirit? Really believes. Suppose a person drinks from that fountain? Better yet, suppose you do. Suppose you let the Spirit saturate you with assurance. After all, "we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!" (Rom. 5:5) Will you be different as a result? You can bet your Sunday on it. Your shoulders will lift as you lower the buckling weight of self-salvation. Your knees will straighten as you discover the buoyant power of the praying Spirit. Higher walk. Deeper prayers. And, most of all, the quiet confidence that comes from knowing it's not up to you because you’re not alone. Then you, like Charlotte, can tell the bullies of the world, "Do whatever you need to do. But just know this: God is on my side."

Grace,

Randy