The ninth son of Jacob as listed in Exodus 1:5– Naphtali. In the Bible, the number 9 represents finality, judgment and completion, which encourages a time of reflection. Nine also symbolizes divine completeness and spiritual gifts from God, which also encourages us to reflect on the end of a spiritual phase and the start of a new one.
How often we call out to God in unfavorable situations seeking His intervention. This is nothing new to Him. The ERV Bible translates Isaiah 51:9 this way: Wake up! Wake up! O arm of the Lord, clothe Yourself with strength. Show Your power the way You have from ancient times.
From ancient times God has revealed Himself through His Word so mankind could know and reflect on Who He is and on what He bestows – the Truth. Why? So, eyes would be opened to what evil does deceiving and manipulating the Truth so what it desires can be accomplished: To kill, to steal and to destroy (John 10:10).
There is such a vast difference between Good and Evil. For instance, in God’s kingdom Truth is symbolized by the color – blue – rebirth – Jesus explained:
“I tell you the Truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they
are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Holy Spirit
gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying You must
be born again.” John 3:5.
We live in the darkness of malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But, when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared (Titus 3:3-4)., He lifted us high and bright as a cumulus cloud, seating us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). Yes, He saved us, dressing us in the rainbow colors (Psalm 21:5 Message) of salvation, not identity confusion and not because of any righteous thing we had done, but because of His mercy (Titus 3:5a).
Our thoughts, feelings and beliefs have been darkened by the grays of half-truths, cunning and deception. BUT GOD, He adds the Light of Truth so we would not just come to know, but that we could boldly, fearlessly and confidently draw near to the throne of grace, so we may receive mercy for our failures, our mistaken judgments, and find grace to help – appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it – for every need (Hebrews 4:16 AMP).
Yes, our heavenly Father saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by Holy Spirit, Whose brilliance He poured out on us generously through Christ Jesus our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:3-7). This is what the glorious Light of Truth can accomplish in and for us – Joy, Trust, Loyalty, Wisdom, Confidence, Perseverance, Faith in and for God, Peace and Contentment if we’re willing to learn. To think a bit differently because:
Surely the darkness hides us, and the Light becomes night around us.
BUT GOD, even here His hand will guide us, His right hand will hold
us fast. For even darkness is not dark to Him; the night shines like the
day, for darkness is as light to Him (Ps. 130: 10-12)
It is not by our efforts that ground is won, nor can our strength bring us
victory; it is God’s right hand, His arm, and the Light of His face, for He
loves us (Ps. 44:3)
Jesus delivers us from death, and our feet from stumbling, so we may
walk before God in the Light of Life (Ps. 56:11)
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim Him, those who walk in the Light of His presence. They rejoice in the name of Jesus all day long; they exult in His
righteousness; for He is our glory and strength, and by His favor we are exalted. Indeed, our shield belongs to the Lord, our King of Glory, the Holy One of Israel (Ps. 89:15-18)
May His deeds be shown to His servants, His splendor to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us, for He has set our
iniquities before Him, our secret sins in the Light of His presence. Yet
God establishes the work of our hands for us. Yes, He establishes
the work of our hands (Ps. 90:8, 16-17)
Isaiah spoke of the Word: “I am the Lord: that is My name! I will not give My glory to anyone else, nor share My praise with carved idols. Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again I will tell you the future before it happens,” Isaiah 42:8-9 NLT. The Message Bible provides the following translation of Isaiah 42:9, “I’m announcing the new salvation work. Before it bursts on the scene, I’m telling you all about it.”
Everything God does is accomplished through His Word of Truth, Christ Jesus, Who burst on the scene to personally announce: “I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens (when I accomplish My Father’s new salvation work) you will believe I AM the Messiah (John 13:19 NLT).
The glorious Light of Truth opens our heart and mind so the goodness of God and the mastery of His creativity and His creation can be seen and appreciated and esteemed. God made the sky vast and painted it blue so we could also sense that inner calmness on hearing the Truth, when faith and trust and loyalty are placed in God and His Word our potential is far-reaching; simply because our heavenly Father has a purpose and an individual plan for each of us. Truth tells us:
“I know the plans God has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm
you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Him and come and pray to Him, and He will listen to you. You will seek Him and find Him when you seek your heavenly Father with all your heart. He will be found by you, and will bring you back from the captivity (to sin),” Jer. 29:11-14
Here’s another thought, the world applies familiar colors to portray the Fear of the Lord – browns and blacks and greys – that diminish instead of illuminating the brilliance of God’s splendor. The darkness in this evil world breeds negativity by applying strokes of fear and shame, anger and condemnation so unhealthy practices find their development within us – to blame, accuse, avoid, lie, self-protect and deny accountability.
However, the colors and, the hues and shadings God uses are applied with what caresses a soul kindness and gentleness, goodness and grace and compassion. It takes time for us to embrace the awe, the ingenuity, the beauty and deference the Fear of the Lord fathers within us. God wants to apply the brilliant colors and strategies and principles of Faith and Hope and Love so His Message of Peace, of Salvation can be clearly understood because:
OUR ETERNAL LIFE MATTERS
I hope your interest has been tweaked, because during this spiritual journey you will be taking steps to acquire tools and receive keys to God’s Kingdom so the glorious hues of Salvation can not only be seen but also personally applied. An open invitation is given to all, to come and listen and learn, so you can become acquainted with the miraculous and wondrous will and ways and redemptive power of Almighty God.
Naturally, there is a starting point, but from the get-go heaven’s Super will be working in our natural to release us from depression, anger, hatred, fear… Yes, Holy Spirit will be guiding our steps to the Fear of the Lord, the awe and wonder and astonishment, for this is where knowledge of God is discovered.
And this is the work our heavenly Father requires of us: To believe in the One He has sent (John 6:69). So, God does not waste anything – our experiences, our interactions, what we watch and read and hear, our joy, our pain, everything about us is important to Him. Why? When the undeniable occurs, we can reflect on – think about, consider, drink in, weigh, deliberate, explore, wrestle with…the Truth.
The meaning of the name Naphtali is “My Wrestling.” There are times we find ourselves wrestling with opposition. For many years Jacob’s wife Rachel was deemed barren, and she wrestled with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow at a baby’s birth. Naphtali was conceived by Rachel’s handmaiden Bilah, and at his birth Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister, Leah, and won.” So, she named this baby boy Naphtali (Genesis 30:7-9 BSB).
Unfortunately, we don’t just wrestle (fight, contend, tussle, clash with, war against) what rises up before us, our most damaging wrestling matches are with those that rise up within us – that warring that occurs between what we think and feel. Jesus said, “Peace, I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid,” John 14:27.
In a previous podcast I shared how a movie about a person’s acts of kindness left me feeling not good enough. A simple movie was able to plant error in my heart because God’s Word and Holy Spirit were not active members in our home. But, even if They are, so many times we are enticed to turn to follow our own way and engage in what the world says is good. Only to discover the heat under the frying pan may have been quite uncomfortable but the fire’s intensity can become unbearable.
We learn as I so very often have, the hard way. Over the years I have compiled resources that are shared freely, in the hope the knowledge and information compiled on this website ForGodForeHisGlory.Com will bring understanding. Because letting go and trusting someone other than ourselves is not an easy thing to do. In fact, we may completely avoid the thought of change since the familiar seems more than enough to deal with. So, it’s not surprising when that natural sense of pride makes us feel good about all we’ve accomplished and survived.
Our prideful nature not only causes us to acquiesce (endure, submit, suffer) at the hands of fear and deception, our soul acquiesces (embraces, adopts, yields) to the philosophies of evil. So it shouldn’t surprise you to hear, when Jesus was publicly teaching the necessity of a radical life-change before God and an equally radical trust in His Word, His family went to take charge of Him for they said, “He is out of His mind,” Mark 3:21. Without Holy Spirit, such natural inclinations produce natural responses that wrestle against the Super God wants to attach to our natural abilities.
Things rise up within us when verses such as Matthew 10:34 are heard, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Jesus not only knew about, He personally experienced the horror of what not acquiescing to pride and fear and deception causes to just naturally rise up within a human heart.
In the natural, Jesus felt the pain as that sword pierced His side, Difficulty, pain and trouble just naturally occurs in this fallen world. Peter wrote we should not be surprised at the painful trials we suffer as though something strange were happening to us (1 Peter 4:12).
The sword Jesus spoke of is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), which pierces us with Truth. For the Word of God, Christ Jesus, is living and active. The Truth is sharper than any double-edged sword, and penetrates dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. God’s Word, Christ Jesus, judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12-13).
When we are as familiar with God’s Word as we are with our fears and prideful tendencies, the faith and hope and love God feels for us will not only become known, our heart will acquiesce (embrace, adopt, yield) to the Truth, the Way and the Life God bestows through His Word. It really is all about Jesus.
In Philippians 4:12 Paul wrote: I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or in want. Why? He was not only very familiar with God’s Word, with what the Truth accomplishes for us and in us, when the Life of abundant Hope and Loving-kindness, Grace and Compassion fills a human heart to overflowing; but, Paul was also very familiar with himself and his wrong doing. Holy Spirit does what He is so very proficient at doing – pointing out the glorious beauty of Jesus, Who knows every detail of what has caused our hearts to be wounded, troubled and afraid, and never stops bestowing His loving-kindness.
God’s Word leaves us with a peace that is radically different from the peace of the world. For what accompanies the world’s peace is an ever-present sense of unrest, of uncertainty, waiting for that next shoe to drop. Through God’s Word of Truth, Holy Spirit is faithfully working to fill us with a confident assurance that: When all we have is Jesus, we truly do have all we need no matter who or what drops into our life. Jesus is enough! God’s Word is enough: “My grace is more than enough! My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness,” 2 Corinthians 12:9.
Inner peace and contentment can become a permanent experience, when God’s Word is recounted (again and again and again) until that hard and calloused shell that covers our heart becomes sensitive (perceptive, receptive, discerning) and submissive to the ways and the will and the things of God.
There are all sorts of things hidden away in our heart. Some we know about, others we’d rather not face, while others we are simply unaware of because the heart stores and pumps life into, examines and exhumes from its chambers those immature and narcissistic thoughts and feelings about me, me, me from childhood and adolescence.
The Message Bible explains it this way: There is a sinful self-interest rooted deep within our heart that feeds the compulsions of selfishness that are at odds, that wrestle against the Word of Truth, Whose counsel is we live motivated by God’s Spirit not by our tainted heart (Galatians 5:16-17).
Why would evil want us to know, let alone believe, in all things God works for good to burst upon the scene? Without God’s Word we would continue doing what we believe to be good for ourselves and others. We would continue to follow the patterns of deceptions: Deny, Minimize, Avoid, Excuse, Compare, Rationalize, Blame, Comply with, Accuse, Manipulate….the Truth, “There is only One Who is good,” Matthew 19:17, and His goodness will be tasted when we acquiesce to His Word.
Yes, God shares with us His Word to wake us from the slumber of complacency – self-glory, self-love, self-importance, self-reliance, self-confidence…So we can hear Holy Spirit calling out, “Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength,” Isaiah 52:1. “Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Word, for the glory of God not for self-glory gratifying the desires of the sinful nature,” Romans 13:14. “You can do everything through Him, through Christ Jesus, for God’s Word gives you strength,” Philippians 4:13.
“I tell you this, On Judgment Day you must give account for every idle word you speak. Right now, your words reflect the fate you will face when that time arrives. Either you will be justified by your words, or you will be condemned,” Matthew 12:36-37 TLB. Holy Spirit always points us to God’s Word, Christ Jesus, because our heavenly Father does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9).
Through His Word and His Spirit of Grace, God patiently helps us to reflect our love of the Truth in everything we do. That we would indeed be earnest about doing so (Titus 2:7). Why? Our actions reflect what we have heard and learned from our father – our heavenly Father or the father of lies.
We don’t need to do as fear demands – be anxious, worry, panic, agree with that sense of dread or desperation, dismay or uneasiness – we can remind ourselves: God’s Word of Truth, Christ Jesus, says, “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all truth,” John 16:12 NLT.
The best decision we could ever make – discipline and train our heart – because there is no better place for us to set our faith and hope and love than in the heart-felt care of Christ.
Lord, stretch out Your hand to heal
And perform miraculous signs and wonders
Through the name of Your holy servant Jesus
Acts 4:29-30
To listen to this podcast, click below:
