Today is a special day to the Catholic youth who are celebrating "World Youth Day." Pope John Paul II initiated this occasion 23 years ago as a way of reaching young people with the message of the Gospel. Since that first World Youth Day, millions of young people have been touched and transformed by the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit through this event.
Reading about this today made me think of this point.
The young people of our day are under attack by a vicious enemy that looks to warp their minds and steal their souls. If you are a parent, one of the main battle grounds of the enemy is his precarious plot to kill your seed.
Whether you have children or not, we all have those war zones where we feel the heat of the fire, from the enemy, by our own poor choices, and from the struggles that come with life.
But there is hope! The promises of God are yes and Amen. The Word will not fail us.
I took some notes from Isaiah 7:1-9 which strengthened my heart.
In this passage, King Ahaz is under attack by the Rezin, King of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. They wanted to to take over Judah to strengthen their own coalition against Assyria.
Because Ahaz, the ruler of the Davidic throne at this time, had no faith in God, the heart of the whole royal court shook--"moved with the wind." (Isaiah 7:2)
Can you relate? I know I can. Many crushing issues from family to financial matters, have made me fearful resulting in my faith being paralyzed.
Back to this Scripture:
So God sent the prophet Isaiah to Ahaz with a powerful word to strengthen their faith. (Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God).
I believe this word is for the young people of our day, for parents who see the warped attack for their children's hearts, and for anyone facing terrible circumstances which seem to never end.
Check out the words God gave to Isaiah to speak in verse 4 of Isaiah 7:
"Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria.....
The instructions are clear:
Take Heed - Be careful, be calm no matter what your senses see or feel.
Be quiet - The power of life and death is in your tongue as Proverbs says. Don't just talk about the problems, have a plan of action and DO something.
Do not fear - Nothing kills faith quicker than fear.
Two Smoldering Stubs - The two enemies appeared to be like firebrands (something that can be used to start a fire that destroys). But these firebrands were merely smoking, about to die out completely.
Yes, the plan to walk through these shaking times are clear. So are God's promises.
In this passage God has HIS Word on the line as He had foretold that Judah was HIS Remnant which would always be faithful to Him, and secure God's Messianic promises to Abraham.
The final word from Isaiah to King Ahaz concerning the attack from these two enemy forces is the same word for you. Whether you are fighting attacks on your children, your family, your finances, your healing, or any insurmountable problem:
"Thus says the Lord God: It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass.
That has got to make you SHOUT! (Or at least run around the house a few times).
So look beyond what you see, even if your "senses give you no assurance."
Continue to dream and believe that the Youth of today will be won to the Lord, that you will have your healing in your body or family, that you will get out of debt, that you will------(you fill in the blank).
Keep dreaming and walking to what God has ordained for you.
"To dream is not the phantoms of our brain but the outline of our divine destiny."
--Jesse Duplantis, JDM Ministries--
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