Sit Yourself Down

Remain peaceful, but prepare for war.

Remaining peaceful when the threat of war is looming ever before you seems to be quite unrealistic and out of touch. In the time of war, we are usually everything but peaceful. Anxiety fills our hearts, palms become sweaty and both mental and emotional chaos ensues. How can anyone remain peaceful when everything around is a battleground? We fight on our jobs, we fight in our homes, we fight at the movies, we fight at the wedding and we fight at church.

At times, we seem to be fighting lions, tigers and bears on land; sharks, crocodiles and barracudas in the water; hawks, falcons and eagles in the air; demons, powers of darkness and forces of evil in the invisible world. With attacks coming from everywhere, how can I remain peaceful? With the threat of an ambush while I least expect it, how can I remain peaceful? When surrounded by every possible enemy that I can think of or imagine, is it even possible to reach such a settled place of tranquility?

Not only is it possible but it’s also necessary. It’s necessary because wars, fights and battles abound. Peace must be active in the midst of conflict because conflicts, clashes and troublemakers are here to stay.

Ok. So let me help you.

First of all, every fight is not yours. Simply walk away. You are not in kindergarten any longer. Walk away.

Secondly, choose your battles. Most fights are not worth your time and energy even if you were to win. It’s like winning the rat race only to realize at the end that you are still just a rat. It’s beneath you, walk away. Know who you are and know your worth, walk away.

Remaining peaceful is very possible. Listen to the words of a shepherd in the midst of an impending attack. He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. See the picture in your mind. His enemies are in plain view, yet he is so at peace that he’s not even preparing for war. This man is preparing for dinner!

Notice that while the enemy is preparing to kill him, he is preparing for dinner and this is not his last meal before his execution.

Listen to me. Life is filled with uncertainty. And there is too much uncertainty for you or me to trust in our preparation for war. There is no way you can prepare for both the seen and the unseen dangers that have come and are coming your way. There is no way to adequately prepare for sickness, unemployment, inflation, misunderstandings, relationship woes, consequences of bad decisions, in climate weather, ditches, shattered dreams, proclivities, flat tires and burnt toast.

God prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies.

All that’s left is for you to sit yourself down and eat.  God is trying to give you a feast, let them worry about fighting. God is trying to give you a banquet, let them prepare and plot for battle. Sit yourself down. If the Lord does not help you, there is nothing you can do anyhow.

Besides it wouldn’t make good sense to go out to fight your enemy on an empty stomach. Sit yourself down. The only question that remains is will you trust and honor God enough to sit at the table that’s been prepared just for you? You shouldn’t worry until you see God worrying. This God can fix your food and fight your foes at the same time.

Sit yourself down! Quit pacing and plotting and conniving.

Sit yourself down at the table and love fellowshipping with God more than you hate fighting with your enemy.

Our part is to prepare for fellowship with God. It’s in the fellowship that our peace and joy is found. You can have perfect peace if you keep your mind stayed on Him. It’s not that we don’t fight, but we don’t fight like other folk fight. We fight on our knees in prayer. We do this because we know that the public outcome of the battle is more than not determined in private while in fellowship with God.

Sit yourself down. We don’t fight like other folk fight. The Psalmists say some trust in chariots, some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God (Ps.20:7). Yes indeed, it is in our time of personal prayer worship that we remember the name of our great God. So stay there until you see God as He is, so undisturbed by our enemies that He is found in the kitchen, not microwaving us a dinner, but calmly and joyfully, preparing us a banquet fit for a king.

So sit yourself down. Eat. Your enemies, your battles, your demons are just going to have to wait.

Sit yourself down.