Job 6:4 – For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

Hello readers, new blog today. I actually had a thought today regarding coronavirus, once again from Job’s life. It is incredible how applicable Job’s life is at this time in history. It seems like just a few weeks ago things were all normal, but suddenly we are living in a whole new world. Today I would firstly like to go back to the book of Joshua and the story of Rahab and the spies. Basically put, Israel was entering the promised land, and there were lots of wicked nations in there, and the city of Jericho was the first stop on the way to conquering and possessing the land that God had promised to Abraham. Joshua, the leader of Israel, sent some spies out to get a lay of the land and see what was going on in there, and they came into Jericho, and lodged in a harlot’s house… a harlot called Rahab. Rahab readily received them, and she hid them, and then she spoke to them…

Joshua 2:9 – And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

Joshua 2:10 – For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

Joshua 2:11 – And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

Rahab and the people of Jericho had heard about what was going on with Israel, how God had delivered them out of Egypt, how God had brought them through the wilderness against all odds, about the victories they were having… and what her and the inhabitants of Jericho heard caused their hearts to melt. When God delivers you into the hands of the enemy you’re done for. When God intervenes it’s done. There are many instances in the Bible of when God sent judgement or gave a mighty deliverance and how his terror just fell upon an army and they fled and basically defeated themselves. The Philistines melted away before Jonathan and his armorbearer in 1 Samuel 14 even though they had the high ground and a massive numerical advantage. And remember back to the story of Gideon, all Gideon had was a few hundred men with lamps, and yet the vast Midianite army was scared beyond belief, put to flight and got badly whipped as they attempted to escape.

… Yet you often wonder how that could REALLY happen. How could this really happen in our day? Such mighty nations, such big businesses and institutions and governments. Yet look at coronavirus, it’s put the world into a spin. And to understand how this happens, you have to understand that man is threefold being consisting of spirit, soul and body. The spirit is the most important part of our identity, it’s why Jesus said ye must be born again. He was referring to the necessity of a spiritual birth. The spirit level is where the fixing of mankind, each of us, needs to begin. Why is this? Because we are dead spiritually, man’s spirit is completely separated from God by sin. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden by disobeying God, it resulted in their spiritual death instantly… physically they died many years later. If you are born again, you will truly never die, you may physically die, but once you are made alive spiritually… that is forever. Salvation is eternal. But why are we discussing this? Because at the spiritual level is where warfare is won and lost. This physical life is just an arena for a spiritual battle. God had delivered Jericho into Joshua’s hands, and that was why they lost. They in fact were already defeated. And God having delivered them literally drunk up their spirit, it drunk up their courage, it drunk up their breath and strength to know what to do and fight.

When God gets in things… the best, the mightiest, and the most cannot stand before him. That’s why such mighty, seemingly impossible to beat armies just melted away before the Israelites. From the original text quoted at the start, Job said that the arrows of the Almighty were within him, and that the poison of them had drunk up his spirit. Job thought God was against him, and because of that he had no spirit left in him. It’s a horrible place to be when your spirit drains out on you. When Sheba the queen of the south came to see Solomon, she spoke with him and when she saw his wisdom, and the temple, and the state of the nation and how things operated… the Bible says that there was no more spirit in her. Spiritual bankruptcy. A weakness at the very core of our being. True strength comes from a strong spirit, true life comes from an alive spirit. Today there are many people with spirits that have been drunk up by this coronavirus pandemic. People are fainting and melting away in the face of it. It’s scary isn’t it. The poison of fear is drinking up people’s spirits, the poison of panic, the poison of uncertainty. If you are a Christian you need not be poisoned, but instead you can and should trust God in these times. God is in control. The weak, defeated, faithless spirit sweeping the world need not be ours for Jesus has given us his Spirit, his Spirit who has overcome the world, who did no sin, who death had no power upon.

What could cause an entire army to flee and literally trample each other in panic? What could cause someone like Nebuchadnezzar, king of the greatest empire… to become like a beast of the field? It is because of what happened at the spiritual level. God put his terror upon Jericho. When a nation loses it’s spirit it is usually defeated in battle. When a nation is strong spirited, it can fight and win… and against odds. That’s why armies do so much to boost morale and keep soldier’s spirits up, because they know that the victory will result from what kind of spirit everyone has. Is it a spirit of fear… or a spirit of courage? Low spirits… or lifted spirits? Look at what happened in Jericho when they heard of Joshua’s all conquering army. It’s the same thing that should happen to you when you realize the truth of God’s word, when you realize there is but a heartbeat between you and a Christless eternity. Sheba had no spirit in her when she heard and saw. The people of Jericho heard of the God of Israel and what had happened to other kings that had come up against Israel, and as Rahab said, it made their hearts melt. They were filled with terror and they fainted at the thought of Israel coming for them. They were already beaten. Is God’s word good news to you, or is it bad news… does it drain your spirit and that’s why you don’t like it?

Have you ever got news… news that just drained your spirit? What do you think happened to Job when he got news of his cattle being taken, his servants killed, his sons killed. What do you think happened to Job’s spirit when he thought God had turned against him? God’s in control of this virus. News of the coronavirus reached Australia, and it struck fear into our hearts. See you may think you’re big and strong, you’re a know it all, you’re independent, you’re confident… but that will change very quickly and evaporate before the presence of God, before whom we all will stand. You think you will give him a piece of your mind… but you won’t. Look at the prophets like Daniel and Ezekiel, when God appeared to them they were like dead men, they needed to be stood up to talk with God. Your spirit can drain away on you, the very spirit God gave you, he has the power to take from you. The body without the spirit is dead. Pull the spiritual plug of man, and man is dead. When the spirit departs, so does man from this world.

But you don’t need to be spiritually bankrupt, you don’t need to be on empty. Daniel was a man in the Bible who was known for having an excellent spirit, in fact they said of him that he had the spirit of the gods in him. See, you must have a different spirit. It’s the key to salvation and living the Christian life. Without the Spirit of God… we CANNOT do it. Our flesh is weak, it is sinful, it fails… despite our best efforts at reformation, overhauling, discipline… whatever. You can’t and won’t live the Christian life unless you have the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit in you will change everything… different spirit… different life. And in fact it will be the start of true life, because spiritually speaking man is dead to God. That’s our default state inherited from Adam. But God has made provision for us. While we were yet dead in our sins Christ died for us. You don’t need a spirit of fear. A spirit that fails. A spirit that drains out on you. A spirit that is weak. You can have that excellent spirit. The spirit of truth. The spirit of courage. The spirit of the fear of the Lord. Do you have THAT Spirit? The LORD is that Spirit the Bible says… so you get that Spirit by getting Jesus Christ. He that HATH the Son hath life… and the Bible says that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. Freedom from fear. Freedom from bondage to sin. Spiritual rebirth is a life changer, literally.

You know, salvation starts with becoming poor in spirit. So in these spiritually draining times, it may be when you finally realize what you lack. Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Realizing you are a sinner, realizing you need a Saviour, realizing you’ve got it all wrong, realizing you are nothing… that is all part of salvation and Christian life. When God moves, when God works, this whole world loses its breath. We all thought we had it made, and now we are helpless, weak, clinging to the faint hope of man… in a time we should be looking to the Lord God of heaven. Today we are in a world who’s spirit is all drunk up. Have you ever got yourself into a situation in life where it feels like your heart has dropped out your feet, where your spirit has just left you like all your breath going out your body. The breath of life from God is what made us alive to begin with. When you see that you are a guilty sinner on the way to hell and you see the holiness of God and the coming wrath… that’ll drink your spirit up. When the world is fainting before a microscopic invisible enemy, remember the God who is above and before all things. He was above and before all that Job faced, and it was for Job’s good. If you trust him, we have the promise that he works all things together for good for them that love him. He wants to draw sinners to his Son Jesus Christ, the light of the world… who when lifted up, will draw all men unto himself. Maybe your spirit is all drunk up in fear, but it’s time we realize our true spirital bankruptcy, and turn to God in repentance and faith.

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