Sand Bagging for Jesus
By Elin
Henderson
“When the enemy shall come in like a flood,
the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”
Isaiah 59:19b (KJV)
For those who live near bodies of
water (specifically rivers), or just watch it from afar on the Weather Channel
like I do, annual flooding is just a fact of life. Those affected know the
power that the floodwaters have to ravage their homes and neighborhoods and
they are focused on one thing - - preventing it! They build up walls of sand bags with one
solitary goal: keep the water in the river and not spilling over the
banks.
How many times do we feel that the Enemy
is overflowing our banks, pouring into our homes, ravaging our lives and the
lives of those we love? It’s like a flood into our souls. We might feel like Job… hit by wave after
wave of destructive waters. [1]
What is our first reaction? SAND BAG
FOR YOUR LIFE! We look for ways to raise
up some kind of barrier to keep Satan out. What a gentle but serious reminder
the above verse in Isaiah is to me. How many times have I tried to sand bag for
Jesus, forgetting that He alone is the One who can raise up the standard that
will keep the flood waters of the Enemy at bay?
My sand bags will cave and fail, but
His hold strong! Rather than exhaust ourselves in a battle we cannot win,
better to let the Lord do the sand bagging and find rest knowing that His
protection is sure!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Can you think of a time when the floods of the Enemy
threatened to overwhelm you? What was your initial response?
2. How can we encourage one another when we see someone
struggling under the flood waters of the Enemy? How can we point them to the ONLY
One who can build up the standard of protection that they need?
FURTHER
READING:
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson
(a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters with Ethnos
360 in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to eighteen-year-old Callie and
fifteen-year-old Elias.
[1] Job chapter 1
