My thought for today is: Concealed Weapons
Senada woke up especially happy
this morning. There was a time when she
lived for the weekend and her mantra was TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday), now it’s
Thank God I’m Forgiven. She had her
personal devotion and was about to head to the gym when she heard a very
aggressive knock at the door and then the words, “Police, open up!” “What?” She thought to herself as she tiptoed
to the door and looked through the peep hole, hoping someone was playing a
practical joke. When she saw the blue
uniforms and squad cars lined up in front of her house she knew this was the
real deal. Her mind was racing and her
heart was jumping up and down. She took
a breath and opened the door as the Holy Spirit flooded her mind with one of
her favorite scriptures: And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose.
(Roman 8:28 NKJV). The Officer
confirmed her identity, read her Miranda Rights and cuffed her as she whispered
a prayer, Father, I’m not sure how you are going to get the “good” out of this,
but I am going to trust you as she opened the door and surrendered.
Once at the Police Station, she
saw many familiar faces who seemed to be in just as much
Just then Peace walked up to her
cell. They had known each other since met
at First Fruits Christian Academy. She could
always tell when something was wrong because it was all over his face. He said “Senna, it’s not looking good. Senna? She thought to herself. He hadn’t called her that in years, in fact
no one had called her Senna since she accepted Christ five years ago. Senna was her street name and as far as she
was concerned Senna was dead because Senada, her birth name, became a new
person once she gave her life to Christ; her old lifestyle was gone; she
embraced the new and didn’t look back according to 2 Corinthians 5:17. Peace
continued stating that she was being charged with grand larceny, assault with a
deadly weapon, possession of a loaded firearm and kidnapping. She just looked at him with a blank stare
thinking to herself, this cannot be happening.
She vaguely remembers him asking for her iPhone and escorting her down
the hall to the medical nurse. She saw
her legs moving but she wasn’t making them move because she was frozen with
shock. It felt like someone was carrying
her down the hall as she watched. She
could hear Peace saying something about the process but she wasn’t sure because
everything was a blur at this point. She
tried to speak but no sound would leave her lips and then suddenly she heard
herself say out loud: No weapon formed against
you shall prosper, And every tongue which
rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of
the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV). Peace never said a word as they continued to
the medical nurse’s office.
By the time Senada had completed
that humiliating process and was assigned to a cell, it was 7:00pm. She was hungry, tired and irritated but
having to put on this pin stripped pantsuit and slippers, which had probably been worn
by at least a thousand women prior to her, almost sent her over the edge. The medical nurse was professional but she still
felt humiliated and confused because she gave this part of her life up and
swore she would never return. She felt
herself slipping; she demanded to know why God had allowed this to happen; she
felt herself getting angrier and angrier and then she heard this still quiet
voice say: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord
is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Hebrews 13:5-6 (NKJV).
She was amazed that each time she
seemed to reach her lowest that the Holy Spirit brought a scripture to mind
that she had read or studied previously.
What was so incredible is that she didn’t purposely learn any of those
scriptures. It was if they were
springing up like a fountain on an automatic timer. Then she remembered something that Mother
Hope shared with her:
“Baby, I can
see that you really love the Lord. You’re
not like a lot of these wishy washy young people today, they don’t have no
staying power, they don’t have the Word down in ‘em. I know ya’ll got all these fancy computers
and thangs, but make sure you ‘hide the
word in your heart so you won’t sin against God’.” Psalm 119:11
Now she understood what Mother
Hope meant. All that reading, studying
and attending bible classes was paying off.
She didn’t have her physical bible but she had her concealed weapon, and
no amount of “squatting and coughing” would expose it. Her weapon is, the Sword of the Spirit, the
Word of God and she was using that weapon without even realizing it. Instead of giving into blame, depression, and
anger she decided to fight back. She got
up off her bunk and paced back and forth in her cell quoting out loud every
scripture that came to mind:
- Lord, listen to my voice when I cry out—have mercy on me and answer me! Come, my heart says, seek God’s face. Lord, I do seek your face! Please don’t hide it from me! Don’t push your servant aside angrily—you have been my help! God who saves me, don’t neglect me! Don’t leave me all alone! Psalm 27:7-8 (Common English Bible)
- Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. Psalms 24:7-8 (NKJV)
- Although we live in the world, we don’t fight our battles with human methods. Our weapons that we fight with aren’t human, but instead they are powered by God for the destruction of fortresses. They destroy arguments, and every defense that is raised up to oppose the knowledge of God. They capture every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (Common English Bible)
- Throw all your anxiety onto him, because he cares about you. Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. Do so in the knowledge that your fellow believers are enduring the same suffering throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:7-9 (NKJV)
Senada felt empowered, renewed
and she was filled with unexplainable joy. She wondered if this is how Paul and
Silas felt when they were beaten and thrown in jail for the Gospel. She pulled out another weapon (worship) and
began to use it under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. One of the inmates yelled “shut the ____ up; don’t
nobody wanna hear that _____”. It didn’t
bother her because she used to be that same angry woman. Then she heard a familiar voice who told the
first inmate to shut up or she was gonna give her “the business” the next time
she saw her. It was Lovely -- one of the
women that attended her class regularly.
Lovely didn’t say a lot but when she did, people listened. She didn’t know why Senada was there and didn’t
care, but she was gonna make sure nobody bothered Senada and deep down she
welcomed the calm that her singing brought.
What have you hidden in your
heart? Is it jealousy, guilt, envy,
shame, hatred, maliciousness or the Word of God? If there is no Word there, or very little, it’s
not too late, you can begin to make deposits today. Open your bible, ask God to show you what to
read and let Him speak to you.
In His Humble Service,
Tan
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