is the Bible the Fallen Weapon of the Faithful?

Hello friend! ♥♥♥

It's the 5th-week-bookiversary of The Way of the King being published (yay!), and as my brother enjoyed the story for the first time, he made a comment:

"Sometimes, it seems like the followers of the King are weak; they're always losing the fight."

I thought about that, knowing the beginning to the end of the story, and remembered a favorite character.

He was a young man who was trained thoroughly. He was ready. Prepared. If his weapon was in hand, no enemy could defeat him, no knife come against his bowstaff.

But one day, he lay it aside and went out empty handed.

He was defenseless.

If every character in the book took up their weapon and allowed themselves to be trained under the hand of their King, they too would be ready to fight in all situations that besieged them.

Yet I wonder if, as Christians, we're faltering like the young man and dropping our own weapon--the weapon of the Word of God.

The enemy is telling us--telling me--to lay down our weapons.

Sometimes for our persecuted brothers and sisters, it's with another weapon pointed at their heart, and to hold onto the Bible means literal death. But for us, the threat is just as deadly.

Like a river tugging at us to simply float and coast beside the shoreline, admire the sun and flowers and cool water. "Stop fighting," it whispers, "to drift is easier, and you deserve the break. You can't keep swimming forever."

It bids us lay down our weapons.

Because if we're not actively pursuing Jesus, we're falling away.

Like another warrior in my tale who thought he was following neither the King or the Prince, but, unknown to him, a person is always on one side or another, and there is no indecision.

Choose your side

Then keep the loyalty.

I hear the enemy's lies, trickily trying to deceive me into laying down my bowstaff, and sometimes it sounds good.

Like, 

I just don't have a desire to read the Bible.

It's hard for me to understand.

I too busy.

I can only spend time in the Bible if I can set aside a long time to study hard.

When the enemy whispers those lies, my sassy self wants to lift my eyebrows and say, "Oh yeah? Then I'll just read it more. Take that." *giggles*

But do I realize the lies are from the enemy and thus identify the lies and attack them with truth?

Do I let the scriptures actually define my life?

Do I let Jesus transform me?

Oh fight, dear warrior!

And if you don't have a love for the scriptures, if you don't have time to sit and read, if it's hard to understand, and you don't consider yourself a good studier, fight anyway.

I am encouraged by a dear friend who is beginning her walk with Jesus. She plays the Bible on audio and doesn't understand it all but keeps persevering and is excited to share verses she memorizes because she knows it's important and is learning to love it.

And I remember times when reading the Bible was hard and dry, and I asked Him to increase my love for it, and He did.

Because our God wants to speak to us. Encourage us. Teach us. He is a Father in Heaven who loves His children and wants to spend time with us and have us be His children because He treasures us.

He knows we live in a world besieged by a treacherous Prince who desires our destruction, so He offers His own Spirit to live inside us, handing us all we need for life and godliness, and the scriptures are a weapon.

He knows the current pulls us downstream, so He rows up a boat and says, "will you join Me?"

Oh, let's fight! Let's treasure His Word. May it be precious to us.

I've been praying this for me and for the Church. And I beg us, don't listen to the enemy's lies. Make time to dig into the Bible. Let it transform you. Fight with it.

I'll sign off with sweet verses that have been an encouragement to me as of late, and may they be a blessing as we pursue our Jesus. ♥

I will delight myself in Your commandments,

Which I love.

The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

I will never forget Your precepts,

For by them You have given me life.

 

Oh, how I love Your law!

It is my meditation all the day.

 

How sweet are Your words to my taste,

Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

 

Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path.

 

I rejoice at Your word

As one who finds great treasure.

// snippets from Psalm 119 

~♥~