Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?
Have you ever prayed for a 'hedge of protection'?
Have you ever even heard there was a 'hedge of protection'?
Lord help our unbelief
I have prayed often for God to put a hedge of protection around me and/or my family. And I'm going to confess to you--I never really expected anything to happen.
And to further confess--I didn't think I would know what it looked like if it did happen...
Something recently changed--and now--now I'm a believer.
I have followed Jesus now for nineteen years and each year my faith grows stronger and stronger.
Our doubt is destructive. Our doubt hurts us and it hurts others.
I'm a pessimist. Pessimist is a polite way of saying you are a cynical doubter.
But God
God knows we doubt and God still loves us. He is faithful when we are not.
This February we went out to Nevada to pick up four children for the purpose of adopting them.
Stop and think for a minute what you imagine when a family of five drives a van two thousand miles to pick up four strange kids and drive them two thousand miles back home.
5 + 4 = 9
Peace and tranquility! Vacation! Pleasure cruise!
I'm a pessimist. Pessimist is a polite way of saying you are a cynical doubter.
But God
God knows we doubt and God still loves us. He is faithful when we are not.
This February we went out to Nevada to pick up four children for the purpose of adopting them.
Stop and think for a minute what you imagine when a family of five drives a van two thousand miles to pick up four strange kids and drive them two thousand miles back home.
5 + 4 = 9
Peace and tranquility! Vacation! Pleasure cruise!
You and I know this is a recipe for disaster.
But God.
Hedge of protection
We loaded up our van with food, clothes, dvds and gas and headed west. After stops in Arkansas, New Mexico and Arizona, we arrived at our destination in Nevada.
Arriving in Nevada--can you say surreal?
No amount of mental, spiritual or physical preparation can really prepare you for a moment like that!
Our trip out was flawless. "Thank you, Lord, but that was the easy part".
After the most amazing week at Nana's house we packed up the nine of us with food, clothes, dvds, gas and stuffies:)
After stops in Arizona, Texas and Arkansas we arrived back at our home in Alabama. Sweet-Home-Alabama!
Arriving home with seven kids--can you say surreal?
No amount of mental, spiritual or physical preparation can really prepare you for a moment like that!
Our trip was flawless. "Thank you, Lord, that was the hard part. Right?"
For the next few months things were going so well that I kept telling people that we were in a "God bubble".
I experienced--for the first time in my christian walk--a hedge of protection.
"Marc, what exactly does a hedge of protection provide? And how did you know you had this hedge?"
Glad you asked!
I knew something was up when we headed out on our trip, because things just strangely seemed to be going so well. By the time we got home and things continued to go flawlessly, I was certain that something special was happening.
When I say things were going well, I don't just mean the physical things, but spiritual. We seemed to have a cleanness, for lack of better terms. A freedom from spiritual warfare. Total freedom from demonic attacks. After nineteen years of being in the 'spiritual battle'--it felt goooood!
When I first became a believer, my teacher used to always say that you now have a giant target on your back that says, "Satan, shoot here".
Do you know what? When you get shot--spiritually--you feel it.
New beginnings
In due time, and as expected, things went back to normal. It was at this time when I really began to understand what had happened.
I have spent countless hours of my life praying to be released from attacks and circumstances, but I think the scriptures are quite clear that the intent is not to be freed from the tribulations, but to walk through them with Jesus. Led by the Holy Spirit who is always right here inside of us.
I now have a much clearer picture of what the scriptures mean by suffering and tribulations. So much so, that we really should expect to always be enduring rather than 'having victory'.
We have ultimate victory and hope in a much greater life, but the here and now is war! All out WAR! Is it possible to read the scriptures any other way? Not possible. The bible speaks incessantly of the war we are in.
In this last year I have become obsessed with teaching my kids about spiritual warfare and physical warfare. We have been observing the fact that humanity has been waring for all of its existence.
There really have not been any sustained periods of history where people have not been dying of disease or war.
Believer--we are in a war!
After I experienced this brief time of relief I can all the more sense the war we are waging in the spiritual realm. We can't just sit on the sidelines and watch--we are in it!
If I can say it plainly, When God Really Does Give You a Hedge of Protection, you then realize the war you had been fighting all along was real!
But God.
Hedge of protection
We loaded up our van with food, clothes, dvds and gas and headed west. After stops in Arkansas, New Mexico and Arizona, we arrived at our destination in Nevada.
Arriving in Nevada--can you say surreal?
No amount of mental, spiritual or physical preparation can really prepare you for a moment like that!
Our trip out was flawless. "Thank you, Lord, but that was the easy part".
After the most amazing week at Nana's house we packed up the nine of us with food, clothes, dvds, gas and stuffies:)
After stops in Arizona, Texas and Arkansas we arrived back at our home in Alabama. Sweet-Home-Alabama!
Arriving home with seven kids--can you say surreal?
No amount of mental, spiritual or physical preparation can really prepare you for a moment like that!
Our trip was flawless. "Thank you, Lord, that was the hard part. Right?"
For the next few months things were going so well that I kept telling people that we were in a "God bubble".
I experienced--for the first time in my christian walk--a hedge of protection.
"Marc, what exactly does a hedge of protection provide? And how did you know you had this hedge?"
Glad you asked!
I knew something was up when we headed out on our trip, because things just strangely seemed to be going so well. By the time we got home and things continued to go flawlessly, I was certain that something special was happening.
When I say things were going well, I don't just mean the physical things, but spiritual. We seemed to have a cleanness, for lack of better terms. A freedom from spiritual warfare. Total freedom from demonic attacks. After nineteen years of being in the 'spiritual battle'--it felt goooood!
When I first became a believer, my teacher used to always say that you now have a giant target on your back that says, "Satan, shoot here".
Do you know what? When you get shot--spiritually--you feel it.
New beginnings
In due time, and as expected, things went back to normal. It was at this time when I really began to understand what had happened.
I have spent countless hours of my life praying to be released from attacks and circumstances, but I think the scriptures are quite clear that the intent is not to be freed from the tribulations, but to walk through them with Jesus. Led by the Holy Spirit who is always right here inside of us.
I now have a much clearer picture of what the scriptures mean by suffering and tribulations. So much so, that we really should expect to always be enduring rather than 'having victory'.
We have ultimate victory and hope in a much greater life, but the here and now is war! All out WAR! Is it possible to read the scriptures any other way? Not possible. The bible speaks incessantly of the war we are in.
In this last year I have become obsessed with teaching my kids about spiritual warfare and physical warfare. We have been observing the fact that humanity has been waring for all of its existence.
There really have not been any sustained periods of history where people have not been dying of disease or war.
Believer--we are in a war!
After I experienced this brief time of relief I can all the more sense the war we are waging in the spiritual realm. We can't just sit on the sidelines and watch--we are in it!
If I can say it plainly, When God Really Does Give You a Hedge of Protection, you then realize the war you had been fighting all along was real!
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