Monday, March 23, 2009

Fighting for The Cause

The din of gunfire is deafening, exploding in my ears so rapidly that one sound is still echoing when another begins. I fight with all that is in me, sweat pouring from my body and my chest heaving. I look to my right and I see a dear comrade in battle fall, wounded. To my left, I hear another gasping for air and moaning in pain. My heart torn, I focus on the present enemy engaging me, yet I feel compelled to run to their side and breathe life back into them. If only I could! However, I'm just a private. I have little experience in battle and none as a medic. I feel my morale lagging a bit, then I remember the enemy, I recall the cause and I reload, ready for another round. I look ahead to one of the commanders just in time to see him hit the ground... hard. I stagger and my mind is deflected from the battle for a moment. NO! Not him, not her! Because, yes, there is another one fallen. I am fighting with all that is in me, but if they can fall what hope is there for my life, or more importantly for the cause? The voices of my training echo back to me, first faintly, then with resounding intensity: "Never retreat! Never retreat! Never retreat!" I stumble forward, wiping my brow. My hand comes away red, tears of anger and determination burn at the corners of my eyes and I propel myself forward. Fight I must, but first....I drop to my knees near my comrade, "Don't worry" I yell near her ear, trying to drown out the cacophony, "I'm going to get you help!" "Too late....,"her voice comes out in a whisper. "No! It's not! It's not too late!" In desperation I tug at her, trying to lift her, when I see the most welcome of sights. Running toward me is Him....the Commander-in-Chief....He kneels next to her, taking over and I step back. She is safe with Him and so are the others falling left and right. I return to the battle. No, I am not highly trained, fresh out of boot camp, but The Cause compels me to give my all and I am not retreating!

I've heard of a lot of marriage failures lately. The reasons are varied....a wife wants to "do her own thing" and "find someone who understands her" and rejects her husband to which she made vows, a husband goes through "midlife crisis" and leaves his family behind for the promise of another woman's love, a husband is caught viewing pornographic images, a wife "doesn't want to be married anymore", a man or woman decides to find "fulfillment" in another of their own gender rather than God's design for marriage. Even more scary are the ministry leaders---pastors, teachers, musicians and youth ministers--who have been practicing the sinful behaviors for years and it is just now coming to the surface. No, it's not new, but it's more accessible now. The media, technology, and tolerance towards sin make it so much easier to yield to the temptations the enemy has always thrown at us.

So what should my response be? As I sat in tears while praying this morning, I did the only thing I knew to do besides prayer. I wrote. I plead with you....remember the Cause! Make your relationship with Christ a priority! Devote your time and energy to your marriage next! Don't succumb to Satan's gunfire!

My husband and I were just talking about this last night as we discussed the latest moral failure. These reports shake me to my core, but I know my God is powerful! These people don't need a smug Pharisee standing over them, nodding knowingly, "Yep, looks like they're finished! There goes a marriage and ministry down the drain." No, after adjusting our own armor to ward off attacks on our own marriages and ministries (yes, we all have a ministry!), we must get down beside that fallen one, wipe away the blood and ask, "How can I help you get back into the battle?" Not only the life of our brother or sister depends upon it, but a world is looking on. We must be the reference point for victory, healing and compassion in their lives. Lord, help me to remember the Cause and my sister as well!

13 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Jennifer, this is soooo good...right on mark! Thanks. Esther

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  3. Thank you, Ladies! Glad to see some others are on board with me. Keep up the good fight!

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  4. Excellent writing! I loved it! So timely and needed. Thanks for all your thoughts.

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  5. Thanks for stopping by Tonya! I appreciate the reading support of my friends!

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  6. Good post! We have to remember who the enemy is... It's not the husband, lol!

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  7. Very true! Thanks for that clarification, Tammy!

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  8. I'm with you on fighting for the cause. God is faithful!

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  9. With tears falling down my cheek and a wound upon my own heart, I am in the battle zone myself right now as I watch my husband go through this horrific "midlife crisis" and seek his own ways. I'm praying for my marriage and try to hang on to the shredded threads that are barely holding us together. I know that he gave his heart to the Lord and I believe that the Lord will keep calling him back into the fold. In the meantime, I ache with the wisdom that my husband has the choice to stay or not.

    I NEVER dreamed it could happen to "us". We are the couple that rarely fought, we've survived miscarriages, burying a baby, homeschooling our children, a devoted family, but the mirror reflecting this image seems shattered and I'm pleading for the Lord to help repair.

    I'm sorry to share all this on my first visit, but this post was so endearing and really spoke to my heart. It comes at time when the battle has almost been to hard to continue the fight and I want to surrender. Thank you for giving me the extra encouragement to keep fighting the enemy and not my husband.

    Blessings,
    ~Mrs.Cuddles

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  10. Oh, I'm so sorry! My heart aches for you. I'm sure that no one thinks it can happen to them. One goal in sharing my heart in this post was to encourage all of us to be aware and guard ourselves with God's help. I pray that God will heal your marriage. I can't imagine the pain that you are going through, but you will be in my thoughts and prayers. May God's comfort rest on you and bring you through.

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