In times before radios, airplanes, tanks and submarines, people fought battles with swords, spears and on horseback. For years and year, the soldiers knew to advance the battle based on the flag bearer. The flag bearer was near the head of the army, and the soldiers knew that if he was advancing, they should too, if he was retreating, they should retreat too.

Because of this, the enemy would always target the guy with the flag. Because if the flag fell, the soldiers didn’t know which way to run, they would fall into confusion not knowing whether they were advancing or retreating. If you were the guy with the flag, you might as well have had a big huge red target on your jacket as everyone was gunning for you. If you were a soldier near the flag bearer, you knew at any moment he could fall and you’d have to pick up the flag to continue the attack.

The Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 2:3) Paul knew that there was a spiritual battle going on. Paul knew that many people looked to him for direction and guidance in their spiritual lives. Paul was preparing those around him to carry the flag should he fall. Paul knew that Timothy would need to be a flag bearer. He knew that the enemy had placed a huge target on him. He knew his time was short. He knew Timothy would soon need to pick up that flag and continue the spiritual attack. So he asked timothy to suffer with him as a soldier for Jesus.

In the Church today, I don’t think we realize this, but our Pastor is the flag bearer. The enemy is targeting your Pastor. He might as well wear a huge target on his suit jacket each Sunday morning. You come to Church to get refreshed, to meet with God, to hang out with your friends. Your Pastor comes to Church and prepares for war. It’s a spiritual war. He is leading the troops. He is advancing the attack on the enemy. Working in close proximity with my Senior Pastor has helped me see how the enemy attacks. It has helped me see just how much he suffers as a soldier for Jesus Christ.

Please understand your Pastor is under the attack from the evil one. The enemy of the Church will use anything and everything to distract, frustrate, upset and discourage your Pastor. Please be a support to him. He needs help carrying that flag into battle. He needs you to pray for him on a daily basis. So please, pray for your pastor.

“Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2)

When you set your alarm for the morning, you intend to sleep soundly through the night so that when you awaken to your alarm, you are rested and ready to tackle a new day. However, you’re awaken by an unusual culprit: whether it be the garbage truck making short work of the dumpster outside your apartment, a neighbor’s dog who is looking to scare a squirrel witless or a strange dream that causes you to wake up in a cold sweat, you find your sleep disrupted by an unexpected wake up call.

In the wake of any natural disaster, inevitably the issue of God’s involvement comes up in question. Because of my involvement in the Church, inevitably those question end up being asked of me. In today’s day and age, there are Christians who proclaim every storm is bringing down God’s judgment for all of our sin. I wish those sorts of people would shut their mouths. I do not think they know exactly why God has allowed this or that, and they should remember that we all shall be judged for every word that comes from our mouth.

I do not know if natural disasters are God’s instrument of judgment, but do we win one more soul to the Kingdom of God by pointing the finger? The loss of life, the pain and suffering that is caused by natural disaster is not eased in the hearts of men and women when we claim that God has judged them for their sin.

Consider what the prophet Ezekiel says, “But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:21-23) The Apostle Paul writes, “God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4)

In Peter, we read that in the end times, people will scoff at Christians because “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” Later on Peter writes, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some count slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:4, 9)

I think God is giving us a wake up call, whether it is through natural disasters, through the sinking economy or through other personal difficulties. He is shaking us, saying, “It’s time to wake up.” “It’s time to take me seriously.” “It is time to repent.” Is anyone listening? The earth is shaking to wake you up from your spiritual slumber. The hurricanes are a reminder of His coming judgment. The economy is sinking to help us remember that God’s love for us never decreases. Your wallet is empty to remind you that God’s grace never runs out. The drought is there to remind you that His mercy never dries up. Your river is overflowing to remind you that His love is overflowing for you. He’s whispering in your ear today, “wake up” perhaps tomorrow He’ll raise His voice a little. “Wake up!”

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Heb. 3:15)

I remember back when I was in high school and I didn’t get accepted to go to the college I wanted to go to. But there was only one university I had wanted to go to. There was no back-up plan in my mind. I checked out this camp-one-year Bible school at a camp in the middle of nowhere. When I was there, I wandered out in the middle of night. You’ve got to understand, I’m a city-slicker, I’m from Chicago. So I’m wandering around this camp in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly I approach a hill area and I realized that the large lake the camp was situated on was not far away. It was pitch black out, so I could not see the lake, I couldn’t smell the lake, I couldn’t taste it or touch it. I couldn’t hear it. But I knew it was there. It was because of the wind. The wind had suddenly picked up as I moved closer to this hill that lead to the lake.

In the same way, often we find in our lives that God is nowhere to be found. We cannot see Him, we cannot smell Him, we cannot taste Him or feel Him. Yet He is there. We know this because if we’re still for long enough we can feel the effects of Him working and moving in our lives. Jacob wrote, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16)

“Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.”

Yet, He is there… always present. He is at work. He is busy doing His God-sized projects. Despite how you’re feeling, or what you’re seeing, He is there. Paul reminds us that God is everywhere, “for in Him we live and move and exist…” (Acts 17:28) Jesus said in John 20:29, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker–An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’? Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’ Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: ‘Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.’ ‘It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host. ‘I have aroused him in righteousness And I will make all his ways smooth; He will build My city and will let My exiles go free…” (Isaiah 45:9-13)

I love the analogies that the LORD speaks through Isaiah with, it makes things so clear. Will a piece of clay say to the potter, ‘what are you making?’ Think of it… ask any pregnant woman, ‘to what are you going to give birth to??’ Well, that’s how God takes our impatient questions… ‘Lord, what are you doing in my life??’ ‘Where is this going??’ ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!’ Don’t get me wrong, I believe God loves honest-sincere-heart-felt questions from those seeking Him. But what I’m concerned about is when such question demonstrates our lack of faith and trust in Him.

Hear God’s answer into your life today: God’s like, “Chill it, dude… I’m doing what I do best… I’m preparing you, using you, to do some great and mighty things for My Kingdom.” Such doubting questions show a lack of faith and trust in God—in our own hearts.

God says, “Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.’ ‘It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host.” I love that. Commit to God the work of His hands. God’s like, “Trust Me, I got everything under control, I’m the one who made the world, made you, and everything else.” You and I need to learn to trust God. We need to learn to trust God with our future. We’re the clay, God is molding us into something great… if we’d just let Him do His work. Remember what Paul wrote in Philippians, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Recently, I flew down to Dallas to go to a friend’s wedding. I was meeting up with a mutual friend at the airport we were going to rent a car and drive up to the wedding. By the time we found each other and got to the rental car place and finally got ourselves a car it was getting late and we still had a long drive ahead of us. Trying to leave the rental car garage, we had to get our paper-work checked over. The guy apologetically told us that there was some major mistake it was like we didn’t even have the rental car and we had to return inside to the front desk. This really ticked me off, I walked back in the building ready to grab some employee’s neck. The lady who ended up helping me was very apologetic and without me even asking signed me up for a free tank of gas for my troubles.

“Surely the Lord was in this place and I did not even know it.”

I walked back to the rental car ready to hit the road and a smile on my face. “Yes, we got a free tank of gas, isn’t that cool?” My friend corrected me, “Wow, look how God blessed us!” That’s so true isn’t it? It was a blessing from God. Surely, God was in this place and I didn’t even know it. No matter the situation or circumstances, God is always at work behind the scenes whether or not I will acknowledge that He is there and He is working. It’s so easy to forget that He’s there. But He is. He is always there, at work.

I don’t doubt that any one reading this wants to know that God is working in your life. If you want to break that addiction to seeing, you must confess to God that you often haven’t been looking for what He’s been doing or acknowledging His handiwork in your life. Pray, “God, help me to see what you’re doing by faith, help me to recognize even the small blessing and troubles in my life as a piece of your greater-God-sized plans in my life. Help me to acknowledge each and every blessing from you and to be thankful. Help me see what you’re doing in my life today. Amen.”

You know, looking back to that year I spent at that camp before going off to college was probably one of the best years of my life. Yes, this city-slicker ended up going to that one-year-Bible school thing at that camp in the middle of nowhere. I made relationships that I have to this day and God stretched me and did work in my life that I had no idea He would be doing. I spent the following four summers back at that camp even while I was at the college I wanted to be at. God knew what He was doing all along even though I was clueless.

“That they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.” (Isaiah 41:20)