1 Corinthians 16: 13- Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. NRS

Have you ever been to an emergency room at the hospital recently? I have, so let me take you on a brief tour. As soon as patients arrive, the emergency team gets into action. Patients brought into the triage area where they are assessed for the severity of the emergency and depending on what is the issue action is taken : tests are ordered, bloods are drawn, images are taken and the patients are constantly monitored so that that the right interventions can be made at the right time. The aim of all of this, is to ultimately save lives, as much as it lies in their power. However, in order for the best results, the emergency team has to be alert, firm, courageous and strong in order to operate in the best interest of the patients.

God is calling us at this juncture of our lives to be His emergency personnel on the frontline of life. We are required to, in this new season, to act, intervene, challenge, discover, face uncertainties as well as new opportunities to stretch, grow and to blaze new trails. In this season therefore, God want us to, ” Keep alert, be firm, be courageous and be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13), so that souls can be saved and brought into eternal life. What does this mean though?

Firstly, we must keep alert. Why is alertness necessary? In the emergency room , if alertness is absent and inattentiveness/ carelessness takes over, the most important matters/details are missed, great damage can be done and lives are lost. In this season, God is calling us to keep alert and pay attention so we do not end up wounded and far from the kingdom. Some of us have previously fought on the frontline in the Kingdom of God, tearing down the enemy’s stronghold but are now exposed and vulnerable. In our vulnerability, we have become inattentive and careless. This has left us open to being attacked by the devil who on the prowl like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)! Have you ever watched a video of a lion on the prowl? The lion is very alert, has a vicious stare and stance often watching its prey undetected from a distance and looks for an opening for the right time to pounce on them. Is there a lesson here? As Kingdom of God emergency people, we each need to keep alert, pay attention and fully embrace the roles that God gives us to do in this season. Why? The enemy is trying to catch us off guard so that he can destroy and devour us by tearing us apart, exposing our vulnerabilities, filling us with fear & anxiety and so on. His aim is to leave us like wounded soldiers to die on the battlefield. Let us snap out of it and be alert and pay attention. Can you think about those who fought on the frontline of the Kingdom of God, tearing down the strongholds of satan in the past? Where are they now? Are they weakened from battle and vulnerable in this season crying in the words of Psalm 143 that the enemy pursues and crushes them to the ground? We need not fall into the same trap while like the herd of wildebeests go on the defensive to save the vulnerable. What do they need? Do they need spiritual, physical, economic or social encouragement & resources? We need to alertly surround them and meet their needs, letting them know their labours were not in vain! In this season, God wants us to keep alert, be attentive and careful, rescue the perishing, minister His healing to the wounded and reflect his blessings. He wants to answer us before we call and hear while we are still speaking. (Isaiah 65:24)

Secondly, God want us to be firm, steady, resolute and steadfast instead of unstable or limp. Firmness in the emergency room, requires those doing the interventions to be calm yet resolute to see the mission to completion. Outwardly, their nerves have to be in tact even if inside they are scared. God is calling us to be people of firm faith in the Lord. When we are limp instead of firm in the Lord, we cannot withstand the ongoing pressures and onslaught of the enemy. We become unsure of ourselves and we are unable to carry out the right actions and interventions. We forget what we have been taught, lose our footing as we are tossed about by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14), and become a target for satan. Firmness requires us to be rooted and grounded in the Lord, to spend time learning and growing at the feet of Jesus through His word and in prayer. Firmness requires us to apply His standards to our lives and be renewed and transformed in our minds and calmly and resolutely carry out the mission. When this happens, we will be able to grow in firm like a tree planted by rivers of water, remain solid and resistant to the diseases of the spirit and souls and shut down distractions and deceptions that attempt to draw us from the narrow way. Firmness will also enable us to help others to be unshakeable, immoveable and steady (1Cor. 15:58) when the rest of the world is falling apart. Let’s evaluate our lives as to whether we are limp or firm in the Lord!

Thirdly, God wants us His emergency crew to be very courageous. This is the tough one. To have courage in the face of uncertainty and danger is difficult. This is the season when courage is called for. Hearing the noise of the battle for souls in the emergency room can cause even the bravest person to be afraid. However, in this new season, God has empowered us with great courage so that we can be successful in our missions of overthrowing satanic kingdoms, ruling with justice, receiving what God has promised, shutting the mouths of lions, quenching the flames of fire, escaping death by the edge of sword, turning our weakness to strength, becoming strong in battle and putting whole armies to flight” (Hebrews 11:33-34)! How? God is with us everywhere we go, walking with us in the midst of the terrifying situations. Are you afraid and lacking courage? Turn to the God of all gods and meditate on his word day and night , filling your heart with courage so that as you face dangerous situations you will hear Him instructing you and leading you. Lord grant us the courage to change the things we can!! Spend some time studying Joshua, Daniel, the three Hebrew boys, Gideon and Paul and watch how God change ordinary people into courageous, extraordinary people transforming the world around them, one person at a time. Ultimately, we have to rely on and gain courage from Jesus who understand our weaknesses yet chose to come to save you and me on this earth.

Finally we are called to be strong in the face of opposition. In the emergency room, strength is required to carry out the needed interventions. Any display of weakness cannot be in front of the patient. Tough decisions have to be made and executed. These require strength of character and strength of will. God is right now pouring down his strength in you like bags of IV fluids into a dehydrated patient. In the words of the Lord in Joshua 1-“Be strong…Be strong…Be strong”. This is a season that calls us to draw on supernatural strength that flows from God’s throne room of mercy. Feel the difference as His strength is made perfect in our weakness. This is not a time to surrender to weaknesses, to give in or to quit. This is a time to be strengthened and for strengthening those around you. Psalm 46: says “God is our refuge and strength , an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way”. In this season, we have to be strong and secure in our identity in Jesus Christ, we have to be impenetrable covered by the blood and name of the Lord for safety, salvation and protection. He gives us his blood into our veins filling us souls with iron will so that we can be strong, make the tough calls and secure our part of the kingdom. Like Nehemiah we must say the words “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” and complete the work that God has called us to.

Lord, we come before you knowing that without your help we are careless, limp, scared and weak, vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks! We confess that we have relied on ourselves instead of you. We come today, tapping into you and watch you transform us into your emergency people who keep alert, are firm, courageous and strong. Thank you that you choose us the foolishness and weakness of this world to shame the wise and the strong and transform us for your glory. We surrender now to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.