The Deepening Experience: You Are the Beloved Sampel

Two Realms, Two Kingdoms

And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle – those who dwell in heaven. Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain. Revelation 13:6-8

It is an abrupt turn in the story, isn’t it? One minute we’re talking about Eden and intimacy and being made, gloriously, in the image of God, and the very next breath, there is a beast making war against us. Talk about disorientation! As it turns out, this love story that creates and births us is set in the midst of fierce battle. The prize is the life and heart of all humankind. If you don’t know this, your life will never make sense. You will never know the answer to the second question we’ve posed: where are you? Or, as Samwise Gamgee asks in The Lord of the Rings, “What sort of tale have we fallen into?”

The rebellion that began in Heaven as Lucifer made a failed bid for the throne of God ended up on the earth. The serpent aimed to hurt God in a fit of fury by targeting those He loves. A special hatred is born between the serpent and Eve and her offspring (Genesis 3:15). All of history bears witness to that.

Your own life bears witness.

But God has planned for this, and in His foresight and goodness, He has written into the fabric of feminine design, the heart of a warrior. You are an Ezer Kenegdo, born with a sword in your hand and Father offers to train you how to use it (Psalm 144). This is part of the “where “you are.

Swords take many forms. Take, for example, a mother’s fierceness in protecting her children. Proverbs 31 speaks of women, clothed in strength and speaking in wisdom. There is fierceness in love which is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. (Song of Solomon 8:6-7)

There are outright acts of spiritual warfare where thoughts are taken captive (2 Corinthians), bound prisoners are set free (Isaiah 61), and demonic oppression is broken (Mark 4:36-5:15). We see people who “through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.…” (Hebrews 11:33).

These are ordinary people, clothed in God, positioned in time and in the world, to carry out a mission of loving God and loving people.

This is another version of what we see in Micah 6:8, "... And what does the Lord require of you except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), and to walk humbly with your God." (AMP)

Kindness, love, compassion, justice, humility – these are powerful expressions of the heart of God and powerful acts of His kingdom on earth. It is how we meet the broken, and afraid, the ones who are alone or in need.

As you ponder all this with God today, ask Him:

Father, where am I in this story You are telling?

Jesus, what are the weapons of warfare You have placed in my hands and heart and what are they to be used for? On behalf of whom?

Spirit, how and where am I called to show up in the world as a beacon of light, love, and hope? How can I move toward the hurting and help bring healing to the brokenhearted?