Today’s To-Do List

This morning I was concerned for a couple of Christian women. One struggles with doubts and fears. The other gets angry over small issues and stomps away from church. At the same time, I struggle with my own shortfall in following Christ, my selfishness, my laxness in spiritual disciplines. Before opening my Bible, I told God that I felt totally inadequate to be concerned for others. My life isn’t perfect, and I needed Him to speak to me.

The devotional book I’m using sent me to Genesis 14:14. It is about a war in the land where Abram and his nephew Lot were living. Four kings were fighting five kings, and when the battle moved into Sodom where Lot lived, they took him and all that he owned.

Verse 14 says, “Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.”

Abram (later Abraham) didn’t waste any time wondering if he should or should not go. He didn’t count his resources to make sure he could handle this rescue operation, nor did he worry about the distance. He traveled a couple hundred miles with his small army, provisions, and a deep determination to rescue his nephew (here called his brother, indicating kinship).

My Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “In the Old Testament, warfare was actual and physical; but it was also spiritually significant in relationship to faith. According to the New Testament, a Christian’s battle and weapons are spiritual, and God’s promises are eternal. Using military figures of speech, Paul portrayed Christ’s death as a victory (Ephesians 4:8) in which He conquered sin, death, and the grave. Christ’s gifts are spiritual gifts for His servants to use in service. With these spiritual gifts and armed with spiritual weapons, Christians are to champion righteousness, truth, and equity (Ephesians 6:10-19). God gives His people victory over the world in accord with His promises to bless and to curse, using His servants who know His high calling and who can use the weapons of spiritual warfare with skill.”

If God were writing about me, He’s want to write this: “Now when Elsie heard that her sisters in Christ were taken captive by the power of the enemy, she gathered together her spiritual resources (truth, knowledge, faith, the righteousness of Christ, a willing readiness, and the Word of God) and went in pursuit, praying and interceding for them for as long as it took to bring them back to their place of full faith and obedience.”

I’m not to waste time wondering about my own life and spirituality. (Confess my sins and get on with it!) Nor am I to worry about how difficult this battle might be or if I have the resources I need. “My God shall supply all (my) need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

In Genesis 14:20, it says about Abram’s warfare, “Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

If I want my sisters in Christ to also experience freedom from captivity, my job description is simple: quit whining and start praying.