Instruments of War

“Behold, I will make you to be a new, sharp, threshing instrument which has teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and beat them small and shall make the hills like chaff.” – Isaiah 41:15

“You are My battle-axe and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms;” -Jeremiah 51:20

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Beyond our salvation, it is the intention of God to make us His instruments of war. We become vessels in God’s hands or channels through whom God brings liberation, deliverance, healing, and reconciliation to mankind. Once we are saved, we become enlisted into God’s army where we begin to receive spiritual training and equipping to make us grow and to destroy the works of darkness. God’s intention is not just that we make it to heaven, otherwise we would have been taken up the day we gave our life to Christ, but God’s intention is to bring us into partnership with Himself, it is for us to advance the course of His Kingdom here on earth. We become soldiers of Christ on a mission to depopulate hell and populate heaven, we are commissioned to enforce God’s will here on earth as it is in heaven, and so help us God!

God’s intention is not just that we make it to heaven, otherwise, we would have been taken up the day we gave our life to Christ, but God’s intention is to bring us into partnership with Himself, it is for us to advance the course of His Kingdom here on earth.

One key thing about instruments is that, the quality of the material from which an instrument is made matters, instruments of war are no exception. In the thick of battle some swords break and weapons fail. What sort of material one is made of, the level of preparation and training we allow God to take us through, what sort of Character development we embrace with the help of God and our level of brokenness and dependence on God all add up to determine the quality of material that we are eventually made of and this ultimately determines what kind of situation we are able to withstand and to what use God can put us. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 tells us that “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”

One key thing about instruments is that, the quality of the material from which an instrument is made matters, instruments of war are no exception.

Another key thing to note about instruments of war is that they are made for war, instruments of war are not made for decoration or entertainment. A grenade is not the same thing as a Tennis Ball, as soldiers for Christ we are made for and prepared for the day of battle. If we are not engaged in reconciling men to Christ, bringing healing to the sick, deliverance to the oppressed, shining as light in the midst of darkness, engaging our world with the sword of truth and expanding the bounds of God’s dominion here on earth, then we are not fulfilling our purpose. The horse for instance shows us an example of an instrument of war created by God that fulfils its purpose. The Bible records in Job 39:18-26 that “Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting? It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray. It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’ It catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry”. The horse is indeed a fearless instrument of war.

If we are not engaged in reconciling men to Christ, bringing healing to the sick, deliverance to the oppressed, shining as light in the midst of darkness, engaging our world with the sword of truth, and expanding the bounds of God’s dominion on earth, then we are not fulfilling our purpose.

Finally, we must remember that we are the generation that must bring in the final harvest and we cannot afford to disappoint heaven. We cannot afford to be fragile or blunt instruments in the hands of God.

Reflect on these words today and ask yourself, what sort of instrument am I in the hands of God? Can heaven count on me in this final hour?

Remain blessed in Jesus Name.