Thread by @GPrater85015

#GeraldsDevotional
A Stake in the Ground – Scorched Earth

In today’s continuation of this message, I will follow on from where we left off yesterday about change and how the enemy of God’s people uses a “scorched earth” strategy. This is the section of this message where the LORD had me pondering many of the recent events around my

personal experiences and He showed me that they were not coincidences and played into all of this.

To begin, I will remind you that about 5-1/2 years ago on Friday 2/28/20 I was notified by my neurosurgeon team that they wanted me to come to Dallas on the following Friday

(3/6/20) for Gamma Knife brain surgery. It was very short notice but the LORD moved mountains to make a way and all the time continued to whisper to me not to worry because He had this. He said that it would be a good thing so I went up there already with a spirit of praise and

thanking Him in advance. That surgery went so well that I was able to return home and 3 days later was fully active again in my ministry at the local food bank teaching the final lesson of my overview of the entire book of Job. At the end of that study, I concluded with my

customary worship songs (one in English – Even If by Mercy Me - and one in Spanish – Su Nombre Es Amor by Evan Craft). They were both songs that celebrated God’s love, presence, control and purpose in everything even when we don’t understand or when problems come along. They were

perfect songs to culminate the overall theme of the book of Job. In addition, they were perfect songs to culminate what I had just experienced 3 days prior. You see, they are both high-energy and both songs of high vocal dynamics. When I finished them, I looked at the gathering

in the congregation and said “Not bad for a guy who just had brain surgery 3 days ago, huh? God is faithful and He is amazing!”

That was also the week when significant changes began to happen. I wrote a lot about many of them here in my messages that week. But here are a couple

that I did not write about but with which I struggled greatly. That week at the food bank, the management had already started to suggest that we implement efforts to distance ourselves from the clients that we pray for. My instinctive reaction was to resist and to ask why in the

world we would do that. Especially on the heals of what I had just experienced and taught about the power and presence of the LORD in my surgery and the entire book of Job, I felt like those suggestions to be afraid of the people for whom we were praying were unacceptable and

went against everything that I believed (the LORD is my provider and protector as He had just illustrated only 3 days prior). It caused tension and frustration.

Later that next week, the actions began to proliferate throughout our city. My Wednesday morning bible study was

impacted on 3/18/20 (I wrote all about it here in a supplement to my devotional at 3:24 PM on that day titled “Call Me a Rebel if You Want.” By that time, the runs had been underway for well over a week at our local grocery stores where people had been whipped into a panic frenzy

of fear and had run to purchase and store up all of the supplies that they could.

During that time, I began to repeatedly ask my friends and colleagues at the food bank the question of “Why is this all happening now? What has really changed over the past 2 weeks?” This theme of

change had become very prevalent in my experience. But it still wasn’t over.

I had been watching as states around the nation beginning with California began to shut down and issue mandatory stay-at-home orders. I thought “this is completely insane and an over response to what is

essentially a strain of the flu… many of which have come and gone over the ages and not caused this type of reaction. And again, as a nation under God, what happened to our trust in Him?” Fear was causing us more and more to become prisoners. Then another week later on 3/24/20

our local county leadership issued that same order here for us, making official the changes that had already begun to proliferate across the state and the nation. Again, I struggled with this because just as it was with the food bank, I am very close personally and have great

respect for most of the people in our county leadership. But the fact remained that in my spirit and with all that I believed, I did not agree. I spoke with the management of the food bank and acknowledged to them that I obviously had struggles with the changes (not agreeing with

them) but those struggles in no way changed my commitment to serving the people (the clients and the food bank management) with all of my efforts given the circumstance in which we found ourselves. I told them that I recognized that these changes were being pushed down to them

from higher authorities but that we were still in this fight together. There was a much higher authority (even much higher than my county leadership) who was at work here with these changes. Still my struggles continue, but those struggles are good for us.

This is all being done

as part of that “scorched earth” strategy.

To be continued…

Greeting to the Twelve Tribes
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.

Profiting from Trials
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you

fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without

reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all

his ways. - James 1:1-8
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