Watchmen on the Walls

by Rocky Fleming

Day 5: Peace

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:4-7 (ESV)

“Ready, aim, fire!”  Those were the words I would hear on the firing range from our military instructor.  He wasn’t that good.  The expert marksmen were given different instructions.  Here’s what they heard, “Take a few deep breaths to relax, clear your thoughts, and focus on aiming; fully exhale; then pause your breathing when your lungs are empty of most oxygen; and take the shot.”  Little wonder those guys won the marksmanship awards.  They were taught how to “settle down” before they shot.  As you read the instructions above, consider that Paul is an expert teacher in marksmanship and he is giving instructions about preparation for taking action.  Consider these points:

• Rejoice in the Lord for He is near you.  Consider how empowering it is to know that the Lord God, Sovereign King of the Universe is standing beside you and is for you.  How does that make you feel?  Relaxed?  At peace?
• Do not be anxious about anything.  Do you think God is anxious about your situation?  Do you think He is unaware of what you are facing?  Remember the Lord is near to you?  Do you think He would make you aware of a threat as His watchman by forewarning you with discernment, and then not give you a target to hit when he says, “Shoot?”  Do you think He knows the right time and way to shoot the spiritual weapon He has given you to use?
• By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  This is His action plan for you.  It gets you ready to take other actions.  But it starts here with prayer.  This is the beginning of His action plan, and it must be the beginning of our action plan.
• And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   Can’t you just hear Paul as if he were on a firing range instructing us, instead of being in front of a firing squad like he was most of the time?  “Now breathe in.  Clear your jitters out.  Settle down and get ready to fire.  No need to worry.  I’ve been where you are.  It will work out fine.  Your prayers are being heard.  Your target has been super-sized.  You will hit it dead on, for God is directing your aim. You can’t miss.”

Wouldn’t those words infuse in us a joy and thrill to be in the fight as Jesus’ men?  Isn’t that what God has been preparing us for?  He has been training and equipping us to be dangerous, dreadful, fighting, spiritual warriors, and this is how we need to see ourselves, and our fellow “Watchmen.”  It is time that we stand firm together against the attacks that come against our homes, our churches, our businesses, our government, and our Nation.  It is time to win back our land, for we are the “Watchmen” that God is raising up for a time such as this.  

Let’s get ready to shoot.