Are you a worrier or a warrior?

As I wrote in a previous post (On Worry, Pain and Anger) the word ‘worry’ comes from the biblical Hebrew word, ‘atzav’, which means “to carve an idol”.

Implied here is the idea that what we worry about may reveal an idol in our hearts. Don’t think ceramic statue. Think anything, or anyone, that you give more importance to than the One who made you.

Worry is also a robber, a dissipation, a temptation.

We are exhorted to flee temptation (yes, the context of that verse contemplates temptation to sexual immorality…but the principle is there!)

It’s time for a paradigm shift: To stop worrying and to start war-rying. That’s what we’re called to Biblically. That’s what gets practical results.

We are exhorted to fight the good fight of faith. Notice it’s a GOOD fight. (1 Timothy 1:18; 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7) Please note that these exhortations were given to Timothy, a young man and spiritual leader who struggled with fear.

It is a struggle/fight to walk by faith because so many past hurts, depressing thoughts, and current events cause us to walk by sight, and thus worry!

But, choosing to not engage in the good fight of faith will not protect you…and will block you from helping someone else find their eternal destiny!

Look at the language used here:

We are exhorted to gird up the loins of our minds. (1 Peter 1:13)
We are told to put on the helmet of salvation, guarding our minds. (Ephesians 6:17)

Worrying is passive. When ruminating we are not taking action.
War-rying is active. When we are war-rying, we are not worrying.

They are mutually exclusive! When you have one, you can’t have the other.

We are also called to war on behalf of others. Which war?

Scripture declares there’s a cosmic war…good vs. evil; The Holy One vs. the deceiver (satan).

The battleground? This world!

The stakes? The souls of men.

Every believer, that is, the ones already reconciled to the Master of the Universe through Messiah Yeshua’s (Jesus) atonement, are called to do battle…to do rescue work. We are called to fight in prayer for the souls of friends, family, and strangers. (Prov. 24:11-12)

We are also called to fight in prayer that righteousness might prevail in a given situation.

Replace the “toxic tune of worry” with the delightful song of Scripture. This is how to soothe your mind. Even as it was written three thousand years ago: “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul (mind, will and emotions).” (Psalm 19:7a)

That’s my ‘replacement theology’!

The believer is promised that the Lord fights for those that are in covenant relationship with Him, through the blood atonement of Yeshua. (Josh. 23:3 an example in the Hebrew Scriptures; Romans 16:20; 2 Timothy 4:17; Rev. 12:11a)

How is this for a promise? “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom.” (2 Timothy 4:18)

By the way, if you are not reconciled to the Heavenly Father, you are fighting on your own.

But, you can pick up your protective armor today, free of charge! That’s because Someone purchased it for you. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God in prayer, telling Him you need Him. Tell Him you’ve been doing ‘life’ on your own. Repent. Agree with Him that you have sinned against Him and others (be specific). Acknowledge Yeshua as the only means through which God Himself planned to reconcile you to Him (Isaiah 53).

He will then clothe you with robes of righteousness and equip you with the “full armor of God” (loins girded with truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the Gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit/Word of God, the gift of prayer). (Eph. 6:13-18)

In addition, He has arranged for angelic protection, as it says in Hebrews 1:14:

“Are they not all ministering spirits (angels), sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14)

Listen, life is a battle, whether you’re a believer or not — like it or not. That’s a given. How are you choosing to deal with it, by worrying or war-rying?

Before I share this amazing true story, which spans 26 years, let me first explain what a mezuzah is.

Three thousand five hundred years ago there was a commandment in the Torah:

“HEAR O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE.
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way,
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand,
and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.”
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Jewish Publication Society translation)

The mezuzah, which means ‘doorpost’, is a parchment containing the words from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (The Shema) and 11:13-21. In order to protect the parchment and the holy words from the elements, decorative cases were made.

The passage from the eleventh chapter of Deuteronomy promises blessing, if we love and serve the LORD, as well as a warning that our hearts not be deceived and we turn and serve other gods. There is a reiteration of Deuteronomy 6:8,9 in the Deuteronomy 11 passage. In Scripture, things are not repeated randomly…rather for emphasis.

Obedience to the LORD’s commandment promised multiplied days (long life) for oneself and one’s children in the Land of Israel. There is also a promise of the LORD’s blessing and protection.

I received a Mezuzah necklace when I was a teenager. It was in the shape of a miniature mezuzah case. Incidentally, while some see such jewelry as a talisman for good luck and prosperity, I wore mine as a reminder of God’s commandments.

Talismen are forbidden in Scripture. It is idolatry to ascribe power to objects.

There is a strong connection between ascribing power to physical objects (idols, talisman, jewelry worn to ward off evil spirits) and demons. Deuteronomy 32:16-17 declares:

“They roused Him to jealousy with strange gods (idols/statues),
With abominations did they provoke Him.
They sacrificed unto demons, no-gods,
Gods that they knew not,
New gods that came up of late,
Which your fathers dreaded not.”

The Hebrew parallelism is clear; the strange gods the Israelites sought after, and sacrificed to, were actually demons.

BACK TO THE STORY:

In 1978, I worked with a man who had previously been a bouncer in the largest nightclub in New York City, and had also been a successful businessman and an anti-Semite. His life was dramatically changed when he found Yeshua as his Savior. He came to love the Jewish people after he read, and re-read, the Bible.

One of our associates, also a believer, apparently had become offended by something we had done. However, we had no idea what that could have been.

The Scripture exhorts us to speedily get reconciled with people.

So, the right thing to do was to call the offended party. As the person lived less than a mile away, I walked over. I spoke with him and his wife, and we cleared the matter.

Then he said, “I’ll drive you to the subway.” I thought to myself: Hey, it’s almost two in the afternoon. Who starts going to work at that hour?

But I let him drive me there.

If he had taken me home instead, I would have walked in on a robbery! Evidently three men had climbed through a sixth floor kitchen window into our basic middle class apartment. There was no fire escape and they got in through a hallway window that was catty-corner to the kitchen window. What they were looking for, I had no idea.

My mother came home to find the place completely ransacked and robbed. She didn’t know where I was.

They took three items…a sentimental, but not particularly valuable, necklace of my mother’s, an unusual gold heart that contained a tree of life with miniature gemstones, and my mezuzah necklace.

Fast forward twenty six years to 2004. The location changes 1,400 miles.

I was making a left turn onto a main road, when I had this thought: Pray for the Jewish people from a particular country, many of whom have come to the States.

I uttered a quick ten second prayer.

Then I thought: That’s an anemic prayer…God’s not going to answer that.

Four days later, my husband met a Jewish man in his late sixties from that country. He took a liking to us and we became friends. He came to love our family and considered himself a member.

Months later, he took us out to dinner for my birthday. He handed me a small box. I thought, what could be inside?

I opened it and gasped!

There was a mezuzah necklace on a beautiful gold chain.

“This had been my grandmother’s in _______,” he said (mentioning the same country whose Jewish population I had prayed for a few months before.) It was obviously very old, as he himself was about seventy.

It wasn’t any mezuzah necklace.

It was the exact replica of what had been stolen twenty six years prior, plus a beautiful gold chain, and was from a place of awesome history!

Every time I wear that necklace I am reminded of the power of prayer, even very short prayers. I also think about God’s promises of restoration.

When we intercede for others, even people and people groups we don’t know personally, we have no idea what is set in motion.

Have you come to a place in your life where you are involved with the most exciting thing in the world? Derek Prince said it best, in the title of his book on prayer: Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting!

Who are you going to pray for today? What are you going to set in motion?

We’ll find out in eternity…if not before, as I did!