Face Like a Flint

One thing I've observed: God calls me things I'm not.

An example: This past year at the Honor Academy, my core (small group) name was Undivided.  It referred to having an undivided heart before the Lord, solely focused on Him, etc.  Let's be serious, though; undivided is the last word that describes the state of my heart.  It's almost laughable.

But God calls me these things, I believe, because He is speaking them over me; He's calling me into the person He says I am.

This year, He calls me a warrior.  See, I am "adopted" into my dear friend Kara's core from the HA, and that's her core name.

This year, I am not a warrior.
I give up, compromise standards, and turn away.
I sin like nobody's business.
I barely fight at all.
I'm discouraged, defeated, and lonely.
I skip quiet times more often than not.
I barely remember the taste of that sweet passion for Jesus.
Yet, this year, God calls me a warrior.

So tonight I was praying, and a phrase from a Bible verse came to my mind.  I prayed it, but all I could remember were the words "face set like flint." But thank the Lord for Google; I was soon thumbing through the pages of my Bible till I reached Isaiah 50, and read:

"4 The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
7 But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9 Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up."
--Isaiah 50: 4-9

I don't feel like these verses describe me at all, and I usually don't act like they do either.  But if God tells me that I am a warrior, then I'm gonna claim it.  I'm going to be who He calls me to be, by His grace.

The Lord helps me...therefore I have set my face like a flint.



PS: If you Google "flint," you'll learn that it's some pretty awesome stuff.

"Let the Weak Say..."

Let me just tell you.

God is faithful.

In case you didn't know, I have my nose pierced. (Cool blog topic, huh?)  Yep, got it pierced when I was seventeen, I guess about two years ago now.

I took it out tonight.  Permanently.

I was standing in my room getting ready for bed, and it hit me.  The nose ring thing isn't me anymore.

See, when I got my nose pierced, I was experiencing the most difficult, earth-shattering time of my life.  Some of you know that.  Others may not.  Well, if I were to be honest, I'd have to say that getting that piercing had a whole lot to do with what I was going through at the time.  It was a symbol of my pain, in a way.  Sure, I thought it was cute, and I still do.  (My face looks kinda bare to me without it.)  But the fact remains that the piercing was more than just a fashion statement; it was a sign of my brokenness.

Today, I don't bear that brokenness any longer, thank the Lord.  About a year ago, during the first two or three months of my year at the Honor Academy, God set me free from so many chains that had bound me for what had seemed like an eternity.  I took hold of that precious freedom, and I proclaimed victory over my life.  Sure, I was weak, but with God I was strong.  I didn't have to sit back and let the Enemy beat me down over and over and over, relentlessly.  I could resist, and he would have to flee.

So I realized tonight how my nose ring symbolized those chains now long gone.  And like I said, I took it out.  I then began journaling my thoughts, and toward the end of my writing, I penned, "...God has healed me. I am risen. I'm undivided. I'm undaunted, and I'm a warrior."

After writing a couple more sentences, I took out my Bible and flipped it open to a random page, expecting to read an equally random passage.  But I tell ya, God is faithful. As my eyes focused on the paper, I read a single phrase:

"Let the weak say, 'I am a warrior.'" {Joel 3:10b}

Amen.

I am a warrior.