The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:1-4 NIV)
As I write this it is an absolutely beautiful day. My dog, my laptop, and I are sitting outside on the deck, the sun is shining hopefully, the breeze is blowing peacefully, and the birds are singing optimistically. I’ve had a lovely weekend, filled with family and friends, church was good this morning, and I’m looking forward to a mid-week conference this week. All seems right with the world.
Except I can’t forget something that was prayed over last Thursday night at the National Day of Prayer service: war.
The writer of Ecclesiastes begins a famous poem with these words: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Then we hear of many contrasts: a time to born and a time to die; a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to be silent and a time to speak. The poem closes with these fateful words: “a time for war and a time for peace.” Nobody that I know really likes the “war” option; we much prefer the “peace.” Yet, this seems to infer that war is a regular (necessary??) part of life. Much as thunderstorms cleanse the air and bring rain, war seems to have had functions in history. If the Allied forces hadn’t been fighting the Axis in World War 2, would the world have known the atrocities of the Nazi genocide of 6-7 million persons – Jews, Poles, prisoners of war, homosexuals, the infirm, the mentally ill, and others?
In the Old Testament, there are several times God tells his people to go to war against their enemies. He even trains them for the fight: “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.” (Psalm 144:1-2 ESV) On the other hand, we’re also told that, “[God] makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.” (Psalm 46:9 ESV). And the Apostle Paul told us, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12:18 ESV). There does, indeed, seem to be a “time for war” and a “time for peace.”
So, what are we living in right now? War or peace?
My first answer to this question is probably “chaos,” or “both.” We hear war or talk of war with or around China, Russian, Iran, Israel, Hamas, Taiwan, and even civil war in our own nation. It’s often hard to tell who are the “good guys” and who are the “bad guys.” As I read the news, there’s no lack of “saber rattling” by the many groups in the world. Jesus gave us direction for this type of era: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matthew 24:6-8 ESV).
“What is being birthed through all this chaos???” you may be asking. I don’t know, but God does.
“Where do we go from here?” you may ask. I don’t know, but God does.
“How do we prepare ourselves?” I don’t know, but God does.
God is our refuge and strength, mighty and impenetrable, a very present and well-proved help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear…The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered and were moved; God raised His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold, our refuge, our high tower. (from Psalm 46)
So we pray:
Warrior God,
You are our light and salvation, the stronghold of our lives. We will not fear when wickedness advances or when there are rumors of war or even when it seems we are beseiged. You are our refuge, our strength, a very present and well-proved help in trouble. You are mighty and impenetrable, our refuge and high tower. Your perfect timing undergirds our lives. God, we are living in a time when there are many wars and rumors of war, nations and kingdoms who rise against other nations and kingdoms. We know your Word tells us there is a time for war and a time for peace, but we generally prefer to live in peace. We know you call us to live at peace as much as we can, but it seems you also use times of war for your plans and purposes. Today we ask in Jesus’s name that there would be NO WAR unless it is by your specific hand and timing. If there must be war, show us how to prepare physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and as communities of faith. If there must be war, protect your children in the midst of the battles. If there must be war, give us great discernment, wisdom, and courage to fight on the side of your Kingdom’s righteousness. If there must be war, we cry out for mercy for ourselves, our families, our communities, and this nation. And if there can be any other option besides war, we pray in the name of Jesus that war will be averted. We pray your supernatural angel armies would stop those who are bent on chaos, strife, and destruction. May our era be known not for its wars, but for its supernatural infusion of peace, harmony, truth and beauty. May we dwell in your house all the days of our lives, gazing on your beauty and living under your reign of peace, we ask in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:1-4 NIV)
God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable],
A very present and well-proved help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas,
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains tremble at its roaring. Selah.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her [His city], she will not be moved;
God will help her when the morning dawns.
The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered and were moved;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. (Psalm 46:1-7 AMP)
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV)