A Surprisingly Effective Weapon of War (Re-Post)

It has come to my attention that the link from my earlier post today was broken, apologies for that! Here is another attempt:

******************

“Do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear” (Isa. 8:12-13, ESV)

Does it sometimes feel like your happiness is being ruined by someone else’s bad decisions? Is there someone in your life being used by the devil to bring you misery and heartache? Does it feel like your very future looms over you in dark foreboding because of how that person is acting?

I have been there. And this is what God said to me: “Do not be afraid. Your future is not in that person’s hands; it is in Mine. Do not be impressed by the devil and by what he is doing right now. Be impressed by Me.”

He quoted Isaiah 8:12-13 to me, and then brought it up nearly every day for months. The New King James Version captures an essential nuance: “Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow.”

Threats. That’s a perfect word to describe one of the enemy’s favorite languages. Every day, he whispers threats into our ears. “Your son will never surrender to Jesus.” “Your daughter will always suffer terribly at school.” “Your marriage will never thrive. It will probably end.” “You’re stuck and nothing will ever get better.” “You will never overcome that sin. Ever. It has utterly vanquished you.” “You are doomed to drown in debt.” “You will be lonely and wretched for the rest of your life.” “Life holds no promise, no brightness, no joy for you.”

He won’t stop, so what do we do about it? In this Scripture, God reveals to us the response that will bring victory. “Him you shall hallow.” Actively hallowing God silences the sinister voice and causes the dark whisperer to flee.

Of course, the word hallow may seem a bit enigmatic to you. I can hear someone asking, what does that even mean? To hallow is to set apart, to lift up, to exalt as holy. Holy means apart from all else. When you set Him apart as holy, you are proclaiming to the spiritual realms that He is reigning in your circumstance. You are decreeing that His name is high above what seems to be threatening you right now. Hallowing is actually one of your most powerful weapons of war!

When the enemy starts with his menacing mutters, begin to hallow God. Begin to purposefully, energetically, wholeheartedly exalt Him. Lift up your eyes to His throne, join in with the angelic hosts, and cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come! God, You existed long before this threat began! You are immeasurably high above it! And you will be for all the days to come! Every day for the rest of my life, You reign! Holy, holy, holy are You!”

The adversary will at first try to distract you from proceeding with this tactic, as it causes him great anguish. But you persist. If you do, you will find that the enemy can’t bear it. He will cover his ears with his hands, grind his teeth, and run away screaming. It’s a knife through his heart when God gets the glory!

Your battle may very well pick back up the next day, and the next. It may feel like it’s stretching out interminably. However, if you make hallowing God a regular part of your approach to your day, you are going to become a holy terror to the devil. As you tenaciously persist and persevere, the daily victories are gradually going to add up to V-Day. And that, my friend, is when you realize that this war is over!

“Do not be terrified of them or be shaken. But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts…” (1 Peter 3:14-15, NET)