 GETTING THERE Years ago when I worked at the mental hospital as an orderly, I was struck by the fact that so many people were tormented by voices in their heads. Still others actively had visual hallucinations that were terrifying. Often the subject of these aberrations was the same. Demons. Whatever these people meant by the term "demons," these creatures were scaring the life out of these poor souls who both heard and saw them. A consistent theme in many of these episodes was the person being thwarted or tied up or hindered from getting somewhere. Still others were extremely accusatory and threatening. The person being tormented was being pulled away from their destination to some horrible place. Getting "there." That means many things to many people. 'There' can be a perceived notch on the corporate ladder. 'There' can be a lifestyle afforded by an increased income. 'There' can be a relationship with someone who seems out of reach. Whatever 'there' means, we are all certainly driven to try and reach it...and it appears the enemy works hard to prohibit us from reaching it. The story of the people of Israel trying to reach the land of promise is all about getting 'there,' isn't it? The Lord promised, they acted on His Word and then the battle was on. It is sobering and not a little eerie to realize that the very places mentioned in the book of Joshua, are now in our headlines again. Just yesterday Hezbollah rockets were raining down on a place known locally as En Nasireh...we know it as Nazareth! I saw a news clip recently where an Israeli Colonel bent down and grabbed a clod of dirt. "This," he said, "is what this is all about. They will never have this," he said with a steely resolve. This morning I want to preach on the subject: Getting There. My prayer is that you will find yourself and your struggle somewhere in the pages of God's Word. I want for us to see that just as the battle is very real in the Holy Land right now, it is just as real in the heart of every believer. There is an enemy who wants us not to get 'there.' There's also a loving Father who has promised that we shall get there with His help. Meet you there! Pastor Jim |
