Threats and Tools

The Bible reminds us in 1st Peter 2 who we are in Christ and how we can respond to the threats that we encounter in this world, which could cause us to drift away from Him:
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul...

Verse 9 gives us some insight into who we are, and verse 11 can encourage us about what we do. We have been placed in this world, but we are not to give in to the ways of the world, rather we are to live in God's ways, that His glory and His kingdom might be expressed through us.  And, we have powerful resources given to us by God to enable us to stand strong, to resist the power of the enemy, and to live out the victory that Christ worked for us through His death and resurrection.

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It is important that we refine our focus when we are feeling threatened, when trouble comes and we need a sense of overcoming power - Christ can give that to us. In Psalm 62, we read:
5 My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

There have been some tense times at a North Alabama high school recently. It all began last Tuesday, when someone reportedly found a threat written on a bathroom wall at Athens High School, according to television station WHNT, which reported that on Wednesday, the school was evacuated because of a bomb threat someone called in. The students were sent home for the day on Wednesday.

The TV station reported that more than 100 students, teachers, and parents gathered for a prayer service at the school last Wednesday evening after the two consecutive days of threats. The police chief, Floyd Johnson, was also there. Organizers wanted to bring the community together and help people to feel safe in the school.

Junior Gracyn Hargrove helped to organize the event. She said, “We just want to encourage everyone that we’re safe and that God’s in control and that it’s in His plan and we just want to lift it up in prayer."

WHNT reported that Athens police stress they did not find a bomb, and all students had been allowed to return to campus around midday Wednesday to pick up their vehicles left behind.

When security is threatened, prayer is certainly an appropriate response, and these students give us a great reminder of  how to respond when we feel insecure.  We acknowledge that God is our dependable refuge, a source of strength, and we can be confident of His peace and protection as we call on His name.

A bomb threat at a school is a troubling event, but you generally don't find that type of threat on a daily basis, as the students in Athens experienced.  But, from a spiritual standpoint, we do face a real enemy who is threatening us on a consistent basis.  And, we have to confront him and resist him in prayer, using the weapons of our warfare, which are mighty for pulling down strongholds, for minimizing the effects of his schemes.  We have to make sure that we are turning our attention to his threats, and recognize that God is more than able to meet and exceed the challenge.

The students at Athens High decided to meet a physical threat with spiritual resources.  Our spiritual enemy manifests himself in the physical realm, but the tools we use are not physical - they are mighty in God, in the Spirit.  We have unrestricted access to the God of the universe, the Maker and Ruler of heaven and earth, who can provide us with victory.