The War With Our Senses

Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

Read Psalm 112 – NKJV (The Blessed State of the Righteous)

Psalms 112:7-8 ⁷ He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. ⁸ His heart is established;  He will not be afraid,
Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Isaiah 41:10 ¹⁰ Fear not, for I am with you;  Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,  I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

I want my sermons to remain relevant during these unprecedented times, but I have the same struggle that I think many people are having with this daily, even hourly barrage of bad news. Let’s talk about how we can be at war with our own senses, and how that can hinder our faith in God.

I believe that we all must take special care that we don’t spend too much time responding to the stimuli of dealing simultaneous crisis. We win in this battle by depending on the Word of God.  We must remain diligent about letting the Word of God war against this constant barrage of bad imagery, and other stimuli that can bring us down mentally.  Today we focus on the Word!

Exodus 14:13 ¹³ And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.

Numbers 9:8 ⁸ And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.”

These are just two times that Moses referred to the senses of the people and how it was affecting their ability to move forward.  In Exo. 14, the Israelites were overcome with a debilitating fear that hampered their ability to actually see what God was doing on their behalf at the Red Sea.  They heard the horses, and saw the chariots of Pharaoh’s army.  They could see, the sea in front of them, perhaps they could taste the salty air.  Still, Moses dealt with their unbelieving chatter by telling them that what they were hearing with their natural ears was actually obstructing their spiritual vision .

In Num. 9, Moses had to quiet the people down because he didn’t have an answer and needed to HEAR from God.  I believe it is just plain good sense, and excellent leadership to admit that you don’t know everything, and that from time to time it is absolutely necessary to hear from God.

Not only can our hearing and our sight be affected, we also may need a change in taste.

Psalms 34:8 ⁸ Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Mark 9:1 ¹ And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”

It is totally possible to have a taste in your mouth, (naturally speaking), that can literally prevent you from seeing the kingdom of God in motion.

So you can see that both literally and hyperbolically, there is a correlation with our natural senses and our spiritual growth.  Let’s be mindful of this simple but powerful truth and learn to guard our hearts and minds. (See Phil. 4:7).  We can do this by shifting the focus from what we discern through our senses, to the awesome power of the God that we serve.

By the way, the bible does not say much about our feelings.  (David and others did share their feelings on occasion, but they would quickly return to the Word and go on to victory).

Proverbs 29:11 ¹¹ A fool vents all his feelings,  But a wise man holds them back.

Of course we all have feelings, but we should be wary of people that do nothing but complain about them.  All great leaders have a way of putting personal feelings aside, getting direction from God, and moving forward to accomplish great things.   Great leaders never go on and on about how life is making them feel, and longing for the pity of others.

We live in a world where we are often affected by stimuli, but I hear God’s word assuring us; ‘I have this! Have faith in me!’  God is shelter in a storm, and rest for the weary.  He is always there, that is His promise.  Perhaps if we can refuse to be moved by outside stimuli, we will again hear His voice with clarity.

I decree today that you will be blessed with an other-worldly calm in these times.  Even if weapons are formed against you, they will not prosper!  God is with you, sharing your triumphs, and calming your worst fears.  You might have to turn your senses off in order to really see that, but you will, and you will be blessed because of it!