this little girl knows something about authority. she was "knit together in her mother's womb" (psalm 139) with this knowledge she did nothing to obtain.
i was in a relationship with Jesus for 20 years before i ever learned that this meant i had been given authority. it starts with an understanding that Jesus said, "if i can do it, you can do it." read Matthew 10 (the whole chapter) and understand that you are no different than the disciples. this changes everything. for a decade i read that chapter like it was no more than the next chapter in a story. while sometimes it inspired me, it never occurred to me everything there was for me. it's the locker room talk before the big game. it's where Jesus says, "ok, here's what it means to be a disciple. this is the real deal. go."
so what's the first thing Jesus gives the team? authority to heal every disease and cast out demons. people, this is not figurative language.
now let's switch gears for a minute and talk about spiritual gifts. (went 20 years before i knew anything about these either.) these are gifts you are given in the knitting process (and also you can ask for them). they are irrevocable (romans 11). no, being a good singer is not a spiritual gift. neither is being funny, which is slightly disappointing. anyway, along with these gifts, i believe when God is making us in our momma's belly, he's giving us "spiritual muscle tone" in various areas. in the same way my son, mac, was born with Lance Armstrong legs. i mean, literally, he came out with these meaty marathon legs. he did nothing to "earn" them. God does the knitting and he chose to bless mac with these legs.
the first time i ever saw this youtube clip, sure i thought it was hilarious. but even more so i wanted to yell, "that's right! c'mon, little girl!" the world teaches our kids to hide under the covers or crawl in bed with mom and dad when they're afraid there's a monster in their room. parents encourage this behavior. someone with school-age children was telling me, "my kids sleep on the floor in my room b/c they're too scared to sleep in their own beds." wo. that's a situation where Fear is winning. and let's be clear - Fear is a dude. He works for the big Evil Dude. so Fear is just hanging out in our kids' bedrooms, running them out of their own spaces. NOT OKAY. once i realized and received my authority, i came to understand i can pray, not just for my kids, but on behalf of my kids. and i can teach my kids how to receive their authority, i.e. talk to that scary stuff and tell it to get lost.
i love this book b/c it totally helps with this concept. we read this at bedtime and we talk about how at the end of the story, the boy no longer needs to "call the doctor." he tells the monsters himself, "no more jumping on the bed!" once we receive our authority in Jesus Christ (from the doctor, if you will), we can talk to that stuff just like He did.
one night mac was having bad dreams. i went in his room and he was telling me about the dream- there were alligators chasing him. of course, i held him and comforted him. and of course, i was tempted to bring him in my bed or crawl into his. but i felt i first needed to try to teach him about fighting back. so i prayed for him and his room. and then i told him, "mac, if you see alligators again, you say 'Jesus says get away!'" (i know that might sound corny, but cut me some slack. i'm new at all this.) he said ok and we practiced a bit. he went back to sleep and i went back to bed. a few hours later i awoke to mac yelling very firmly, "NO!" and then again, "NO!" it sounded as if he was speaking to a dog misbehaving. i jumped out of bed and then i listened and waited. i didn't hear anything. i checked on him and he was sleeping peacefully. i thought, well alright. thanks, God. that's good stuff.
ok, now i'll try to bring all this home... so what took me 20 years to learn, this little girl was born understanding. that is, the knowledge and understanding of authority in Jesus Christ. when you watch the video, you can see her attitude says, "duh. this is a no-brainer. i'm gonna kick his ass before he kicks mine." i had my ass kicked all over the place by "monsters" before i really learned and received what having Christ means, including that i can fight back.
my prayer is that this youtube sweetie pie is the iceberg's tip of what God is doing in the next generation - making little warrior love machines that have clear understanding of the Truth and are happy to share it with anyone who will listen, including their moms.
oh and really... i think they should say "bottom" or maybe "bucket."
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