Warriors Arise: April 19, 2024
Matthew 8:30-34a Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”
And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.
That is a powerful word! "Go!" I wonder if Jesus said it suddenly, like someone would say, "Boo!" The taught makes me chuckle.
It seemed to be such an intense command that it led to a chain reaction.
Go:
The demons left the two men
The swine fled into the sea.
The herdsmen ran to the city.
The people in the city came out to see Jesus.
That one word did so much. It was like dominos lines up, ready for someone to push the first one. If the length of the gap is longer than the height of the domino, the chain reaction is stopped. It doesn't matter how much momentum or will desired effect that domino wants to have, it has been placed out of reach to continue the chain reaction.
How close are you to others? How willing are you to move closer, invest in people and develop relationships? Sometimes we do not have the opportunity to be God's hands and feet, arms that release compassion when we hug, and words that encourage others to stand with God because we are not in relationship with people.
I will never forget a message by John C. Maxwell from over 25 years ago. He said, "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." Let's ask some questions to identify if we were a domino close enough to be impacted by another and impact the one in front of us.
If you lost your job, would you have someone you could tell who would pray with you?
If you were struggling in your marriage or you spouse was cheating on your, would you have someone you could turn to and trust they would pray for you and not gossip?
If your teenagers were struggling who could you turn to for prayer support?
If you were the one cheating in your marriage, who would you tell in order to get help and accountability?
These are intense questions but they are identifiers. Most of us do not have anyone we would tell these things too. Many times the reason may not be that we don't have anyone but that our pride would get in the way. I am not saying we need to go broadcast our problems at Starbucks, Home Depot, or the clerk who is checking gas out at the grocery store. I am saying we need to be close enough to the next domino in order to have impact. When we fall, we have someone who break our fall. We need someone who will get down in the trenches with us and pray.
My Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When You say, "Go", I want to be a part of the chain reaction. I want to be impacted by another who has received the power of God. I want to be able to impact other with the power of God. I want to be close enough to the domino behind me and the domino before me that together we have impacted this world to expand Your kingdom in Jesus' Name, amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy Hand
Join together as Believers in Jesus Christ to pray and to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.