Scared of Our Skill
“There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews.” 1 Samuel 13:19 NLT
The blacksmith was a vital skilled worker in that time. Without one, you couldn’t practice farming very skillfully or productively, never mind the art of war and protecting ones lands and people. The Philistines made sure that in a land where iron and copper were plentiful (Deuteronomy 8:9), the elements needed to make swords and farming tools, the people were forbidden to learn and exercise the skill to work with the two elements. Additionally, in order to farm their lands - to provide food for their families, they had to travel to the enemy’s camp (to the Philistines) to have their plowshares, picks, axes, and sickles sharpened. Not surprisingly, the Philistine blacksmiths charged an arm and a leg for their services, which is one reason, the only swords found among the Hebrews at that time belonged to King Saul and his son, Jonathan. The other reason, of course, is that Saul was a lousy King who allowed his soldiers to fight with slings and clubs rather than provide at least SOME of them with swords; however, that particular point is besides the point of what I want to share today.
Today, I want to remind you that there is an enemy that wants to keep us disempowered, weak, oppressed, under his feet, and even enslaved to the lie that he (notice the small “h”) is in control. Or, that he has any chance of victory over us other than the victory we hand to him by our own belief that we are indeed without power, weak, and under his feet. The time has ended for the Philistines to be able to hold God’s children to the limitations of not being able to have a blacksmith in the land. Ok, is blacksmith too old-fashioned a term for you? Think about the skill that you desire to practice, or the gift that you are currently cultivating, or the calling that you are in school for. And, suddenly, our modern day Philistine equivalent tells you that skill or gift is no longer allowed to be done among your people. You never learned the skill and now you never can; yet it’s a skill that is needed / desired in life, so in order to have it / enjoy it, you have to go to the enemy and pay more than everyone else for the privilege. Do you accept that? Have you accepted that?
We all have to some degree. Let’s look at the movie industry. In a way, the Philistines told us that entertainment was not allowed in the Church. They made it seem like it didn’t belong to us. When we went to them, the prices were too high for us to produce anything but some really cringe worthy stuff. Imagine the swords the Hebrews tried making without iron and copper that probably crumbled after the first strike. So, forever, it seems, we paid to watch whatever was produced by the world. Then, in the mid 2000’s the Kendrick brothers show up on the scene. THANK GOD somebody heard Holy Spirit telling us that we weren’t bound by Philistine rule anymore, that we were believing a lie if we thought secular entertainment (though not all bad - please don’t hear me wrong), was NOT what we were tied to, and MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT, we no longer had to go to their “blacksmiths” for our iron. Our land was full of everything we needed! From them we got movies like Fireproof, Courageous, Facing the Giants, and FINALLY, the amazing, WAR ROOM. From there, it was easier for movies like Miracles From Heaven, I Can Only Imagine, and The Shack to be produced.
Now that the revelation is out there, and we know we no longer have to depend on the Philistines for the iron and copper that has been plentiful in our land all along, what’s the problem? Let me go to the great Maya Angelou for the answer. Read part of her amazing work, “Still I Rise” below:
“Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.”
“Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin in my own backyard.
What I’m trying to say is that we’ve got “oil wells pumping in our living room and gold mines in our backyard ”, yet sometimes there is nothing sassy or joyful about our walk as Christians when it comes to going forward in our gifts and talents. Instead, we seem to be the ones “beset with gloom” crying out to God in despair and desperation, “teach my hands to war and my fingers to fight”. Or in other words, “I know the way is clear and the enemy is defeated, but please tell me what to do to serve you”. His clear response in many cases?
“YOU’RE DOING IT!”
He might even be saying, “be a little more sassy with it!”
He said, “it’s called being a mother and raising up the next generation of Jesus lovers while mentoring young women.”
He said, “it’s called being a little league coach in the inner city to a team of boys where 1/3 may not have a father in the home and they need to know Me through you.”
He said, “it’s those 3-week shifts on that offshore oil rig that you thought you were doing just for the money, but I sent you there for the captive audience.”
He said, “it’s cleaning the frail forms of My elderly in the nursing homes where, from unhealed places of pain, bitterness, and loneliness, they spew out hateful words to you on a constant basis.”
“But Father,” we say, really confused, “those are our jobs or things that we are supposed to do!” I think, at this point, He laughs. Sometimes, the Philistines aren’t so obvious. Sometimes, they deny us the blacksmiths in the land by downplaying the importance of the blacksmith. Their plan is to make it seem like your purpose serves no purpose so that you go around looking for destiny when you are already walking in it.
But, this is what God says:
“While you are raising your kids, young mothers from church flock to you for wisdom. You think you’re just talking as they watch you cook and clean, but you are actually saving marriages. I know you wanted to be a radio personality, but podcasts are the new radio and one of these young ladies are going to show you how to take all this experience you think is nothing, and turn it into something that will help moms all across the world.
“While you are coaching those boys, you are learning conflict resolution, you are getting on the job cultural diversity training, you are gaining an understanding of the plight of single mothers, and I am teaching you how to teach them the art of living victorious, whether in a winning or losing season. I see many books in your future that can impact millions.”
“While you are on that rig, you are training for the mission field and practicing your evangelism skills. Not to mention the tough skin that is only acquired from roughneck rejection.”
“While I was on this earth, they hated me, abused me, and I responded in love. The world needs love responders. I’ve chosen you to do what most resembles my last activity on this earth: suffer, take it, give it to Me, and respond in love.”
The enemy is so afraid of our talent, calling, gifts, and especially how all of it can connect to our market place ministry. He is doing his job with his constant whispering: “that is not allowed in this land,” or “what you’re doing doesn’t matter”. He doesn’t want you to do anything to encourage, strengthen, or add to the Body of Christ. He doesn’t want you to do anything that will make us strong and capable of fighting the war that has already been won! The truth is, his oppression over you ended with the resurrection of Jesus! When we became Joint Heirs with Christ, he became defeated in our lives. We are no longer bound to a bad king who won’t give us the means to defend ourselves. Ephesians 2:6 in The Passion Translations says it best: “He raised us up with Christ the exalted One, and we ascended with Him into the glorious perfection and authority of the heavenly realm, for we are now co-seated as one with Christ!”
Until next time,
Your Kollider Scribe,
K