STUDYING THE GAME FILM

Ahhh, September; football season; Saturdays with the Michigan Wolverines and Sundays with the Chicago Bears have arrived at the Niswonger house.  We gather, watch the game; I listen to commentary both from the television and the sofa.  Learn what plays should have been called; find out the plays that we can’t believe they called and which team has the toughest defenses or strongest Offense and always, always root for our team and against the team (no matter which) that can hurt our team's chances for a championship.   Once the game is over, our weekly routine continues but it doesn’t end for the team.  There are practices, plays to design and learn and game films to review.  The coaches and players review their own team’s films, correcting mistakes and searching for weaknesses that can be strengthened by practice or personnel changes.  Game films from next week’s rival team are also viewed and studied.  The strengths are noted, but the most important search is for the opponent’s weaknesses.  No matter how strong a team, if a weakness can be identified and a game plan constructed to attack at the point of weakness, a rival team has a great chance of victory.

Judges 16 records the well known story of Samson and Delilah.  In an earlier chapter, we learn that Samson was to follow a Nazarite vow from his birth and throughout his life.  Even during her pregnancy, Samson’s mother was commanded by God to eat nothing unclean, to not drink wine and once he was born, Samson was to never cut his hair because God was going to use him to deliver the people of Israel from the Philistines.  As we read the story of Samson, we find out that Samson was disobedient to the counsel of his parents and to the command of God throughout his life.  In Judges 16, we find Samson has fallen in love with a Philistine woman and she is determined to learn the source of his strength so she can sell the information to her countrymen and gain an advantage.  To learn this valuable information, Delilah attacks Samson at his weakest, most vulnerable point, his lack of discipline and lust for women.  Eventually, Delilah’s tears and feminine wiles weaken Samson’s defenses, he tells her the source of his strength, she cuts his hair and he is taken into slavery by the Philistines.

Satan will search for the source of your weakness to steal your strength.  He has a whole arsenal of “fiery darts” which he is constantly launching at us from every angle.  If they hit the “Shield of Faith” in one area, he will fire into another area of life.  Satan is constantly on the lookout, loaded and ready to fire at any sign of weakness. The enemy of our soul is not so concerned with attacking us in the areas we have overcome through the Blood of Jesus Christ, but he is very focused on attacking us with the things our flesh is still battling.  If he can successfully strike us at our weakest point, he can gain an advantage over our strengths and eventually take us captive. 

God has provided us with a strong defense that will protect us even at our weakest moments.  Prayer is our “game film,” through which the Holy Spirit can reveal our weaknesses and give us the necessary exercises to strengthen our commitment and desire for the things of God.  He forgives our past mistakes and teaches us how to overcome and avoid pitfalls.  Then because He is such a merciful and gracious God, He gives us another opportunity to get in the game.  The Word of God is our “game plan;” study it.  Studying, knowing and practicing the “game plan” is the best defense against the attack of Satan.  Through Prayer, the Word and the Blood of Jesus, Satan cannot steal our strength by searching out our weaknesses.

NIGHT VISION

The two most terrifying experiences for a child are being separated from a parent and darkness.  We understand the horror of finding yourself in a crowd of people and not seeing a familiar face, unaware that Mom is merely 2 steps to the right.  A terrified wail sounds an alarm and suddenly Mom is at your side, holding you close and drying your tears.  What about the darkness?  What makes shadows turn into monsters as the light fades?   It is all about clear vision.  As the night descends our ability to see things as they are, lessens.  The silhouette of a stuffed animal becomes a giant tiger, suddenly a breeze stirs a piece of clothing and it moves closer, every creak and bump is magnified until you are sure something is lurking directly under your bed.  Morning dawns, our vision is restored; the tiger becomes a “Beany Baby,” the monster, a shirt and you find there is nothing more menacing than a couple of “dust bunnies” under your bed.   If only we had Night Vision.

The terror by night doesn’t disappear with age, as adults we go through dark nights that sometime stretch into dark days.  It may be a sickness that has attacked your body.  Physicians have found that during an illness, symptoms are worse and seem to magnify during the nighttime.  Perhaps there is a situation in your life you are dealing with and it seems there is no solution.  It is so dark and you just wish someone would shine a small light your way.  You may find yourself struggling under a dark cloud of depression.  Not only do you fight the darkness but now a heavy load threatens to descend, crushing the life giving breath from your body.  You need Night Vision.

Our youngest son, Phil, was fascinated with gadgets.  We purchased our home in Saginaw, when he was 6 and the most exciting news he had to share with his teacher was “it had a garage door opener.”  So it was no surprise that when he got a little older he was sure his life would be awesome if he only had a pair of Night Vision Goggles.  I am sure his amazing imagination was going wild with all the adventures he could enjoy with goggles.  No, he never obtained a pair and his life has turned out pretty awesome without such an acquisition.  But stop and think…what if….What if during your darkest moment, God handed you a pair of Night Vision Goggles and you realized the tiger was just paper or the menacing noise was just wind blowing through the trees.  What if the night became as clear as the day?  What if we had Night Vision?

Very early, one morning, I was awake praying for a precious lady and her family, who are facing some dark nights and days.  God placed this series of scriptures on my heart to share and I realized that through Him we can have Night Vision.

Psalms 139:7-12 Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.

My spirit thrilled at verses 11 and 12, especially the last line, “The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”  What hope, what a Mighty God we serve; He even provides us with Night Vision Goggles!!!  Whatever situation you are facing, even if the wind is howling and the storm clouds are pressing down; when the darkness threatens to distort your vision, meditate on these words, “The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Psalms 42:8 says, “In the night, His song shall be with me.”  So grab your Night Vision Goggles and start singing the “Song of the Lord.” It may begin as a far off twinkle but keep singing.  Soon you will find that the night has become “Light about you,” because “The darkness and the light are both alike to Him. God has given you Night Vision.

DIGGING A HOLE IN ADOBE

When you move into a pre-owned home, you also acquire most of the fixtures installed and left behind by the sellers; not so in a newly built house.  One of the fixtures we had come to depend on was a mailbox.  Although, we could live forever without “junk” mail and preferred to ignore the bills that usually arrive daily; we understood that Creditors would not accept our mailbox deficiency as an appropriate excuse for late payment.  After a trip to Home Depot, acquiring a beautiful poly mailbox, to match our siding and a hardwood post for an anchor, Steve grabbed the shovel, confident that we would be ready to receive mail within an hour.  There were a few facts, however, that we had forgotten to include in our planning.  The soil was clay, the month was July, the temperature was 90 and there had been no rain for several days….Exactly!!!  He was trying to dig a hole in a giant, baked, adobe brick.  After a couple days of digging, filling the “hole” with water, digging, water, digging, water, digging we were finally ready for the next mail run.

Sunday morning, I heard an awesome sermon entitled, “The Cost of Forgiveness” by Anthony Garcia. God’s timing is perfect and it was of course, exactly what I needed to hear.  I heard that still, small voice whisper instructions to my heart and I couldn’t wait to get home and obey.  Someone had said something on Saturday that cut and on Sunday, I was still hurting.  I knew I needed to address the situation, clean out the wound and stop the bleeding.  After corresponding with the person and making it “right,” I tried to go to the next step outlined in the sermon; I needed to “Grieve and Leave.” 

In his sermon, Anthony talked about acknowledging the hurt, taking time to grieve over it, then bury it and leave; MOVE ON!!!  The first 2 steps were easy!!!  I had no problem acknowledging the hurt; the wound was fresh and raw.  The grief seem to come naturally, I shed a few tears, allowed the anger to spill over, reasoned it all out, over and over and finally got the shovel out to dig a hole.  I hadn’t counted on the hardness of the soil.   After digging a couple of minutes, I laid the hurt to rest and smoothed the soil back into place.  Monday morning, the hurt had somehow pushed back to the surface and I realized the hole had to be deeper and it was going to take a lot more digging, some watering, more digging, watering and digging.  So here I am, on my knees, softening the soil of my heart with tears; handing the shovel back to God, I submit to His digging.

Sometimes we go through life enduring the heat of the day and experiencing a drought in our spirit.  We don’t realize how hard the soil of our heart has become until God hands us a shovel and says, “It’s time to dig.”  You may encounter some stubborn weeds, a few stones and tangled roots deep in the ground, left from previous wounds but keep digging.  Allow God to soften the soil with your tears, dig a little more and soon you will have soft, broken ground ready for seeds of love and forgiveness.

Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.