When my youngest was little, he’d play fight with our cat, pinning the poor thing in his arms & say with an exaggerated southern drawl, “Wut now, son?” It still makes me laugh out loud😂 The poor cat was pinned, & whether he liked it or not, he lost the battle in Isaiah’s locked arms of love 💕
I always wonder if it felt like torture for the cat, but it’s such a great visual…being locked in love🤗
Feeling locked with no way of escape doesn’t feel awesome unless we remember that God is truly trustworthy,A locked position might be right where we’re SUPPOSED to be as it reminds us to rely on HIS love.
Right before Jesus is betrayed in the garden, He says this to his disciples, “But now…”
It’s a transitional phrase & infers that which once was, will no longer be…but now they prepare for travel. Up to that point they, didn’t need a bag or money, but now they need both PLUS a sword.
When a battalion of soldiers arrives to arrest Jesus. Impetuous Peter draws his sword, slashing off a man’s ear. Jesus immediately heals the man, saying, “No more of this…”
If not meant for defense, why the sword?
To warn them of the dangers to come? Maybe it’s to remind them that if they trust in a sword, the time is here when they’d desperately need it?
Matthew Henry once wrote, “Nothing more certainly forebodes a fall, in a follower of Christ, than self-confidence…”
How easy it is in times of danger to rise in defense to lash & slash, & yet I wonder this?
Is He referring to a physical sword for defense of dangers to come, or perhaps, He intends the Sword of the Spirit?
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God’s Word is sharper than a two-edged sword, separating soul & spirit, exposing our secret thoughts & desires.
When hope seems lost, I wonder how our tesponse might change if we remember that we’re locked in the Father’s arms of love? What if we ran to His Word, letting it separate our mind, will & emotions, freeing our spirit to be led by His?
Father, the next time we want to lash & slash, lock us in Your arms of love. Take us from “What now, Son,” to “But now, Son…” Picking up the sword of Your Word is the safest place to be because it gives us Divine perspective!
JUDGES 4:1-5:31
LUKE 22:35-53
PSALM 94:1-23
PROVERBS 14:3-4
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