Have you ever experienced an "I dropped my sword moment"? Everything was going absolutely splendid and suddenly one encounter, one thought, one word shatters the moment of bliss. I call it an "I dropped my sword" moment. The more pressurised the situation the more susceptible we are to dropping our sword.
We must realise, like a sword our words are powerful.
I am beautiful
I am loved
I am stable
I am bold
I am responsible
I am more than a conqueror
I am resourceful
I am flawless
Yet there is a thinking mindset that must accompany the things we utter with our mouths. When these words are accompanied by that kind of mindset we can access tangible evidence of these things in our lives. The emphasis is on the thought process or environment that yields the words.
So I say I am loved yet my heart maybe closed and refuse the loved offered by the people around me because my mind had formed a defence mechanism I might be unaware of. I say, I am stable yet I do not take control of my emotions by capturing my thoughts and the conclusive sum of them. I say, I am responsible yet I don't make an effort to consciously manage my finances effectively. I say I am more than a conqueror but when was the last time I accepted a challenge or agreed to do something differently. If we consider each of these declarations not one of them is without a requirement to have the right thinking patterns that enables the required actions to take place. Sometimes it is difficult to do this, of course it is, we are after all human.
Yet we are able to be these things because we abide in Him. As we abide, He teaches us and we become. We work out in Him and through him. His light guides us. We can't skip the doing part if we desire true congruence in our lives which brings fulfilment.
To drop my sword would mean I have put my trust or confidence in something contrary to the truth. Put blatantly, it means I have been deceived or distracted.
Dropping our sword can be a very gradual thing - we indulge in tattle and frolic with the wrong thoughts, we hear over and again the things that contradict the truth, we do not allow ourselves to be objective. These are very human reactions but the more knowledgeable and aware we become the better positioned we are to manage them properly, better equipped to win the war or the fight.
In the medieval times, battle was done face to face, men like you and me stood at the war front facing enemy lines head on. I think of movies like Braveheart and Troy. I sometimes imagine that some men may have simply cut out of formation and ran because the sight of the enemy troops and impending doom was just too much for them to handle so they simply dropped their swords and ran off. I wouldn't want to be that guy sitting in the camp when my mates came back after a hard day of fighting, would you?
The modern day war or fight, in physical terms, does not use the sword anymore though - we do not face enemies head on as done in the medieval age or using biblical context, in the time of David and Goliath. Now hand grenades, missiles and nuclear bombs are used. In most cases we don't physically see the enemy, we hardly know what they look like, they are too far away, hidden in armoured tanks or ships but their weapons are even more deadly. Their weaponry has the ability to take out a vast majority of troops at a time. In just one blink of an eye a whole battalion is destroyed, scattered and wounded, a whole nation could be wiped out. That is the reality.
What if the hand grenade is the abuse on social media platforms and its impact on the mental health and well being of both children and adults? Think of that missile as a divorce resulting in broken hearts, broken homes, an addiction to fear, shame and insecurity . Think of a nuclear bomb as the social construct of systemic racism, poverty and religion. Consider the anxieties and fallacies these as spiritual warheads have potential to exaggerate in the mind of a single human and then multiply their effect.
Figuratively speaking, why would anyone wonder out without their armour? Why on earth would they drop their sword and expose themselves in that way!? I like to think of my armour as this "sleek metal yet light sensitive camouflage suit like vest" that glows in the dark and blends into the environment like a chameleon when required, showing itself at appointed times, able to identify like minded souls equally suited up. The armour we wear is almost like the uniform a soldier wears as part of an army. It is also distinctly recognisable by any enemy troop.
I think of it as a highly sophisticated digitised gadget, way ahead of what the likes of our Disney heroes Black panther, Thor or Iron man might suit up in. Its an armour that conditions its environment rather than the other way round. Its an armour that regulates it environment to make it more conducive. Its an armour that lifts, shields and when necessary hides. It has a unique sword and the mechanisms on the armour can enable the sword to spin and fly, penetrate any surface and even boomerang like Thor's hammer. Our armour in God is just as sophisticated as the times - but do we know how to use it? I'll be honest with you I am still learning just because one has knowledge doesn't mean they can apply it appropriately, that's wisdom and I ask for that all the time because situations change - the challenges we face are multifaceted requiring a different way of applying the same knowledge and understanding of ancient times.
I never knew or imagined I would be a single parent. It's a huge challenge to be a parent anyway and be all the other things you are. Still it is a road I've had to navigate and the armour I wear has refined me. The sword I carry has helped refine my thinking and my thoughts. I am learning to use it more effectively each passing day. These are some of the more practical ways I activate my sword
1) I pray - I try my best not to pray randomly but intelligently because God has given me a brain that memorises things I can call up what I have read and speak back to Him.....and pray. "... Father you said....so let it be done." We should be strategic in our praying, giving consideration to whether our prayer points align with a bigger picture and the desires He has put in us and lining up our actions with what we have prayed. (I pray and pray as intelligently as I can, I use the words my father has spoken to me...I speak them back to him cos that way we don't have an argument about it...lol. And it comforts me that His words are promise, yes and amen.)
2) I use words of affirmation - Now this one comes with a health wording. I don't talk religion, I talk relationship. And when we have relationship we interact, its giving and taking, its listening and applying the understanding that comes, that's what helps us grow in relationship. If we are merely going through the motions without the spirit we cannot experience fulfilment. If we are merely speaking the right words but not doing the right things from the heart there is little or no fruit. So when we say things we must follow up with actions to see them come to fruition. We don't pray to succeed in an exam and never read for it or show up at the exam centre. We pray, we study and we show up, spirit, soul and body.
3) I Meditate (chewing on the word, like you are chewing on your favourite chocolate bar or cereal bar) I think of the old man sitting lazily on his balcony at the end of a long day chewing on tobacco. That's how we need to chew on the word when we come to close of a hard day. and when we wake in the morning to greet ourselves.
4) I Sing - I formulate my own words of praise and rejoicing and celebrating. This is a space where truth is released in abundance because you are connection on a very deep level, That is what song was made to do, help us connect on a deeper level. It is entwined with our emotions and unique rhythm and facilitates our will. Music is so powerful and more powerful when we are sing of righteousness, joy and peace to the creator of all tunes
5) I Teach - What better way to learn than by teaching. Its not about how well you do, just do it. We teach by demonstrating with our own lives. Teaching people how to apply the word has positively impacted your own life. My son reminds me when i get out of line the things i have thought him. The boy is 7 years! You know that teaching you give a child or sister or a friend and one day find them reminding you of the same word because you dropped your sword! I called that a boomerang. It has made it s impact in their life and just when you thought you'd forgotten it they remind you of it. Yes! A boomerang moment guys. I love it.
- Finally be, try to be consistent in all these things because practise makes perfect! Eventually, your spiritual muscles create memory that is reserved for difficult patches in life when you think you do not have the will power to swing your sword - hopefully your autopilot will kick in at that point.
So you might have been hit by a grenade but now consider that young family you are raising. Afterall Psalm 127:4 says, "like arrows in the hand of a warrior...are the children of one's youth."
It might have been in the aftermath of a nuclear bomb you launched that platform or network that encourages and builds teenagers or dads or even businessmen and women to maintain kingdom standards. The book of Isaiah says "they will be like oaks of righteousness planted for his glory they will rebuild ancient ruins, repair and revive ancient cities"? Or perhaps it was a missile that should have taken you out completely but you only emerged with a stronger voice and a message worth writing in that book you have shoved in a drawer someway. His word says, "He made your mouth like a sharpened sword in the shadow of his hand he hid you, he made you into a polished arrow and concealed you in his quiver." The missile only served to excavate what was hidden in you all the while. In all of these, we harness the power of His flawless words, our sword, our truth. So pick your sword up now, its not too late.
Pick up your sword and begin to chant, "It's a good day for slaying giants".
Giants are naturally intimidating and we don't always realise we are facing one - you could also know and cross the giant instead of wiping it out completely. Lets find out how to recognise you are facing a giant and real life heroes that brought them down in my next series - I crossed a giant!
Be blessed.
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