Sep 27, 20206 min read

Lord of Heaven's Armies: Prepare Your Soul

Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated.

For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.

[T]he LORD has called you back…

Isaiah 54:4-6a, Berean Study Bible

The Lord of Heaven's Armies, God of the whole earth, has reclaimed all territory. The Lord has reclaimed YOU, and given you Heaven to use here and now. You are at the next level. Prepare your soul for your reengaged assignment, and be whole. Be healed. Be entirely Saved. Have the impenetrable perspective that you are united entirely with God. He is everywhere, all the time, and He is good for you. Use this knowledge. It is the truth, and it makes you very effective.

God’s gift of corrected perception is food for the soul, life and health to the bones, and sight to the eyes. God fixes things. He removes corruption. It is part of being alive, and our privilege to be constantly made brand new.

Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19, BSB

Reflect His design in your fresh vision.

Magnify His thoughts in your renewed mind.

You—all the ground you cover, all the thoughts you think, all the will you employ—matter. You have been called and deemed SACRED and TRUE. You are His. In your specially-crafted existence, holy ground walks, and for His good reasons. You are well-placed, perfectly guided, and you have an eternal ripple effect on every other soul in creation. Stake claim! Take a stand while there is time granted you. You are a warrior in the spiritual conflict between good and evil. Believe STRONGLY. You are being effectively used for the side of good.

Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].

Ephesians 6:13, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

In war, we have to be smart, and quick on our feet. When we think of God speaking power and direction to us, we automatically cling to His commands like a gleaming shield. As the Source of Life, the “Lord of Heaven’s Army” says to us on earth: Thou shalt not steal…from Me. The battle is perceptual. Our heart becomes our landscape. And when we steal through a divided soul and unclean conscience, we weaken ourselves. Do not be confused. Do not get distracted. Do not be of divided loyalty—make up your mind. You are in the midst of the greatest battle in existence and your strategy will affect many forever.

Think clearly.

Move obediently.

To steal from God begins in one’s innermost thoughts. We take them captive, then give them ALL to Christ.

[F]or the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…

2 Corinthians 10:4-5, New American Standard 1977

A soldier needs physical and mental rest, coupled with a divine drive that will not agree to losing. Do not quit. Simply ask for a fresh anointing. God knows you live in a fallen world—He has sent you anyway. He knows your needs before you do. He will supply you in the right moment in order for you to win. Give Him your complication. He will give you a clean-running mind set on His objectives.

This is our objective:

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Belief in God heals you from battle scars. God cares very much about your mental and emotional wellbeing. God wants you victorious. He will accept nothing less. Belief in Him—a practiced belief which welcomes His presence into every area of life—is a balm that calms, soothes, shields and sends. Do not bend your spine, nor cast down your eyes or your physicality to the “weight of the world”. It holds no true weight—only God's armor does. Conflicts here are as fleeting as dust on wind—the proven point is found chiseled in your character and resultant fortitude. Do you see yourself as a victor in Christ? You should. It honors Him.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

John 16:33, New International Version

This world is a battlefield between good and evil. You are desperately needed, and yet, you have already won. Rely on the One sent out ahead of you.

Are you enjoying your life in the midst of war? God’s irony confuses the enemy. Be happy about certainly winning all for God. Keep worry sufficiently at bay. No problem can ever overpower God. With the proper view of things, this time next month, next year, or in the life to come won’t hold any remembrance of the obstacle that appears to exist today.

Patience is mightier than any sword.

Overcome the world—first in your mind.

One who masters her own soul is stronger than she who takes a city.

Proverbs 16:32, paraphrase mine

We have been given the mind of Christ. The difficulty enters when we encounter ground He has already covered, but we buckle and fear we are alone in it. Remember, He is with you and He has already seen it all...

Worry versus Faith;
Natural versus Spiritual;
Secular versus Sacred;
Evil versus Good.

In Christ, the left-hand side is already rendered void, but instead of trusting God's remedy for every conflict on earth, we internally entertain problems instead of entertaining Christ. We lose sight that Christ mastered the whole war to give us the right-hand side of God for free. People get dry and calloused in a land of extremes and deprive their hearts of a rested center. You are seated with Christ.

Jesus is our war Hero.

We have it easy.

All we need to do is invite God into every aspect of our experience, accept what Christ has already done, and not divide our soul into categories that perceptually exclude Him. Salvation means absolute wholeness—Oneness with God in every aspect. He is a God without bounds. Take the limits off your faith. Believe higher. Live Heaven out on earth.

You are in Christ.

Christopher Wordsworth writes:

O Lord of heav'n and earth and sea, to Thee all praise and glory be; how shall we show our love to Thee, who givest all?

The golden sunshine, vernal air, sweet flow'rs and fruits Thy love declare, when harvests ripen, Thou art there, who givest all.

For peaceful homes and healthful days, for all the blessings earth displays, we owe Thee thankfulness and praise, who givest all.

Thou didst not spare Thine only Son, but gav'st Him for a world undone, and freely with that blessed One, Thou givest all.

Thou giv'st the Holy Spirit's dow'r, Spirit of life and love and pow'r, and dost His sev'nfold graces show'r upon us all.

For souls redeemed, for sins forgiv'n, for means of grace and hopes of heav'n, Father, what can to Thee be giv'n, who givest all?

O Lord of Heaven and Earth and Sea (1863)

We are, modernly, too divided in our thought life. Excess categorization produces needless complication. Manmade lines distract us from God's will, and when they creep in to our own opinions, we find we are falsely imprisoned by our own intellectual error. Rather, give God all of you—every single thought. Take back your soul from the enemy’s deception. Keep loyalty defined: you and God are one, and the enemy has nothing in common with you (John 17). Simply unite with Christ entirely and watch the Lord of Heaven's Armies regain all the territory of your life.

Do not be afraid.

Do not be intimidated.

The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is His name.

BIBLE TRANSLATIONS:

Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (La Habra, CA: The Zondervan Corporation and the Lockman Foundation, 1987).

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

ONLINE SOURCES:

https://hymnary.org/text/o_lord_of_heaven_and_earth_and_sea

DAWN DYSON