Seven Foot Tall and Bulletproof
History is replete with examples of bad people with bad intentions doing bad things to people. But have you ever noticed how often those bad intentions are turned on their proverbial heads, resulting in remarkable good? A quick AI search brings countless cases in point:
John Bunyan’s Imprisonment – Arrested for preaching without a license in 17th-century England, Bunyan spent 12 years in jail. During that time, he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the most influential Christian books ever published.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer – A German pastor and theologian, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and eventually executed for his resistance to the Nazi regime. Yet his writings from prison, especially Letters and Papers from Prison, have inspired generations with their depth and courage.
The Apostle Paul – Much of the New Testament was written while Paul was imprisoned. His letters to early churches—written under duress—have shaped Christian theology and practice for centuries.
Richard Wurmbrand – A Romanian pastor imprisoned for 14 years under a communist regime for his faith. While suffering in solitary confinement and torture, he composed sermons in his mind to stay sane. After his release, he founded The Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry that now supports persecuted Christians worldwide.
Harriet Tubman – Born into slavery, Tubman endured unimaginable hardship. But after escaping, she returned again and again to rescue others via the Underground Railroad. The evil of slavery became the backdrop for her extraordinary courage and legacy of liberation.
In each of these examples, we see men and women stripped of their power, laid wholly vulnerable to the forces bearing against them for their harm.
These stories remind us that while evil may intend to destroy, it often becomes the very soil where resilience, purpose, and grace take root.
So what do these stories all have in common? In each of these cases, we see men and women of God submitting themselves to His higher purposes.
Submitting ourselves to God is important for many reasons, but chief among them is the key role it plays in allowing us to experience God's goodness.
In one classic OT example, we read the story of how Joseph's brothers became jealous of him and sold him into slavery. They perpetrated this crime against Joseph with nothing but bad intentions.
The remarkable part of the story was how Joseph chose to respond to his circumstances. Rather than becoming angry or bitter or playing the victim, Joseph submitted himself to a God Who had nothing but his best interests in mind. Because he submitted himself to God in the midst of his trial, it really didn't matter what his brothers’ intentions were.
By committing Himself to God, Joseph allowed God's good intentions to override the bad intentions of his brothers.
It is important to note that it was only because Joseph responded the way he did that he was able to overcome his circumstances and experience God's good intentions. The same is true for all of us.
As we live out our lives, we will be met by forces that do not have our best interests in mind. And just as Joseph was outnumbered and overpowered by his brothers, so it will be for us. At these times, we will seem to have no choice but to be subject to the forces that have marshaled themselves against us.
But we will have a choice!
Like Joseph, we will still have the option of committing ourselves to God, the choice to endure our circumstances with an attitude of humble submission.
The bottom line is God takes care of whatever we entrust to Him. So long as we yield ourselves to Him, it really doesn't matter what bad intentions come our way. We don't have to outsmart or outmaneuver every bad guy in our world. All we have to do is dedicate ourselves to God, without reservation.
When we have given all that we have and all that we are to God, the bad intentions of others can't possibly prevail against us. We are seven feet tall and bullet proof!
As Joseph explained to his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people" (Genesis 50:20, NLT).
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Pray in the Name and Power of Christ
"A person cannot always speak in the name of another; cannot do it at all unless he has received an authorization so to do. Then he stands as that person’s deputy; stands in his place; speaks in his name. I am sure that nine out of ten of the prayers of Christians are not offered in the name of Christ, and could not be. It would be a sin against Christ for such prayers to be supposed to be the prayers of Christ. ... But when we talk of the Spirit of God, and we dare ask in the name and use the seal of Christ, to set his signature at the bottom of our petition, then, brethren, depend upon it. Christ will do it." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Several times a week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt steps to the podium to relay to an awaiting press pool the mind and intentions of the president, Donald J. Trump. She does so as all of her predecessors have done. For example: Jen Psaki and Karine Jean-Pierre, on behalf of President Joe Biden; Dana Perino and Ari Fleisher on behalf of President George W. Bush; George Stephanopoulos on behalf of President Bill Clinton; Jim Brady on behalf of Ronald Reagan; Jody Powell on behalf of Presdient Jimmy Carter; and so on.
When they speak from that podium, they dare not speak their own mind. They are conveying policy, they are conveying presidential action, they are conveying administrative intent. To speak their own mind, heart, or opinion would be to misprepresent the office of the presidency, and would be a gross violation of their calling and position.
Likewise, when we pray in the name of Jesus, we are proclaiming that we are praying on His behalf of His authority.
But are we?!
- - Authorization Requirement: Speaking or acting for another requires authorization. This authorization allows one to represent the other person. As believers, we are "authorized" to speak in Jesus' name, in so much as we do not speak amiss. "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:14, ESV).
- - Praying "In the Name of Christ": Many Christian prayers are not offered "in the name of Christ". Praying in Jesus' name signifies approaching God based on Christ's merit, not one's own, and seeking to please Him and glorify the Father. "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13, ESV).
- - Misunderstanding "In Jesus' Name": Adding "in Jesus' name" at the end of a prayer does not guarantee praying with Christ's authority. It signifies aligning prayers with Christ's character and intentions.
- - Authentic Prayer: To pray in Jesus' name requires understanding Him, His actions, and His promises. It means acknowledging reliance on Him for access to God and praying according to God's will. "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us" (1 John 5:14, ESV).
- - Caution: Prayers not aligned with Christ's will or character are considered a sin against Him and should expect no response or fulfillment. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:3, NKJV).
Prayers in Jesus' name should be shaped as Christ might offer them and submitted to God's will.
Just as the presidential press secretaries are bound by duty and postion to speak soley in line with the mind and intentions of the president, so must we be quite certain to not overstep the bounds of our own position.
To pray in Jesus' name, we must know the mind of God AND the heart of God, and aptly allign ourselves to it! Only then, when we speak in alignment "with the Spirit of God, and we dare ask in the name and use the seal of Christ, to set his signature at the bottom of our petition, can we depend upon it. Christ will do it."
"If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:7, NIV).
Our Promises vs. God's Promises
Several years ago, I was a youth minister at a church in Kentucky. I was only on staff at that church about a year and a half, but I learned a ton about ministry and people during that short time. One of the things that I learned was to over communicate everything and make sure you understand what people mean by their promises.
Our youth group was growing. I think one of the best things we did with the youth was encourage them to memorize Scripture. One of the ways we encouraged them was through group incentives. When they memorized so many verses as a group, they could pick which incentive they earned. So they earned things like lock-ins, pizza parties, and one time, they earned a trip to an amusement park.
In fact, a parent of one of the youth offered to pay for the trip to the amusement park for all the youth. And my wife and I were like, “That’s awesome! That’s so generous of you! Thank you so much!” So we got all the youth excited about memorizing Scripture, and they were bringing their friends to church, and we had a huge group of kids that were ready to go to the amusement park!
But then when it came time to go, and we told the parent how many tickets to buy, she was shocked. I guess she didn’t realize how many youth and their friends had been coming to youth group on Wednesday nights, and she clarified that she meant that she only wanted to pay for the youth who have been coming regularly on Sunday mornings. I mean, that was still generous of her, but at that point we had to figure out how we were going to pay for the other half of the youth to go, because we had promised them all a free trip to the amusement park!
I learned from that incident to over-communicate. When we thought we could count on a huge, generous promise, when it was clarified, it wasn’t nearly as good as we had thought.
Now, that tends to happen with people. We make big promises, but sometimes we have to apologize and clarify what we meant by our promises.
But here’s the thing, God never needs to apologize. And when He clarifies His promises, they always get better rather than worse. So we can put all our hope in His promises, knowing that His promise will not disappoint.
In Genesis 3:15, God first promised that the "offspring of the woman" would bruise the head of the serpent. In Genesis 12:1-7, we learn that the offspring of Abraham would bless the whole world. And in Galatians 3:16, we learn that this "offspring" is Jesus. As per God's modus operandi, the promise just got better and better!