Warrior Bride - Part 1 - Conclusion

CONCLUSION OF PART I

          As the time speeds closer to the fulfillment of our promise as the Warrior Bride, it becomes clear that the cost is greater and greater. Our commitment and faithfulness to our Beloved Commander comes at a higher price than ever before in our lives. The ironic thing about this cost is that it cannot be measured before it is required. You do not know what will be asked of you before it is asked.

          As our Bridegroom/Commander begins the processes of cleansing and purifying, much of what we hold dear to us will be deemed a deterrent to our calling. For some it will be a larger than life step of faith into an unknown country following wherever the Commander leads. For others it will be the daily dying to many little areas that we thought were unimportant. What we have overlooked in the past is that both the giant leap of faith and the dying daily to the inconsistencies in our lives are what define us as the Warrior Bride. It is our level of awareness and our submitting at that level, which determines the depth of our commitment.

          In looking back at great examples of faith in the past, many men and women of God were called to something greater than themselves. In each case the cost of that commitment was every area, shadow and corner of their hearts. It is interesting to note that even though great faith was required to give their all, at each step in their walk the price is paid again. A fresh surrender at each fork in the road is a hallmark of those who have truly understood the life of becoming the Warrior Bride.

          The fire in the eyes of our Beloved now challenges little inconsistencies, which once were thought to be insignificant. Our wholehearted devotion with all its beauty and wonder, comes at a great price to us all.

          Gone are the times of selfish prayer. Gone are the times of the vanity of our spirituality. No longer is there time or place for our own fulfillment and successes no matter how they are measured. The time is short. It is too short for petty self-indulgences, especially in the spiritual realm. Our thoughts, motives and actions can be and must start to be brought into alignment with our Bridegroom/Commander.

          It is not enough to say the spiritual words. It is not enough to merely look at the Isaac’s in our lives and talk about the sacrifice and cost. To make that Abraham walk will cost a great deal almost daily. To lay those things on the alter of our faith requires great courage.

          Another irony in it all is the only one who truly knows if this process of sacrifice is taking place is the One to whom we are sacrificing. Those around us, who we would impress with our jargon of the cost, really matter little to our own walk up the mountain. It is usually those areas people do not see which turn out to be the hardest and most costly to surrender.

          As our humanity dictates, we spend a great deal of time and effort gaining the approval of others. This happens from the lowest persons of society right up to the spiritual echelons. As our focus becomes aligned with the Commander/Bridegroom, part of the cost of our submission will be bearing the reproach for our efforts. So many of us are motivated by our peers, spiritually and otherwise, that we ignore the inner whispers that call us o change.

          Those who, in the past, have effected the greatest spiritual truths were those who were motivated solely by the inner prompting of the Commander. They knew His voice in intimacy and in warfare. Their lives were a picture of the cost of the commitment. The reproach most received was great. Family, friends and the church were against most of those great examples of faith.

          Early Christians gave their lives. Pioneers of the early church also gave their lives to the spreading of the gospel. Today people are still giving their lives. It is difficult for some of us to understand why the Commander asks some to give the ultimate sacrifice of their lives to prove their love. We seem to have it much easier we think to ourselves, living in relative freedom and peace. I would submit that the price is just as high for those of us called to make our living sacrifices.

          Our Bridegroom/Commander demands everything from us – including the hard to reach areas, our motives and our responses. These two areas are the easiest to ignore, the hardest to see and the heaviest to carry. The definition of who we are is wrapped up in our motives and responses. As we are to die daily, both become the measuring sticks by which we can determine the depth of this calling. It is tricky, however, to accurately determine this from the outside. Spiritual words do nothing to help us hear the intimate call of our Bridegroom. Lofty ideals do little to bring the discipline so necessary for the preparation for battle.

          Ours is a call to do away with the outer trappings and finery, and place the focus back on our Bridegroom. It is at that place of His intimate whispers, where we will find the courage to bear whatever reproach may come. It is in Boot Camp where we find the determination to lay aside the weights that bind us, to pay whatever price comes our way.

          It doesn’t seem to be of much consequence where our walk of life finds us. Missionaries, teachers, factory workers, homemakers or pastors only serve to define where our preparation time must be spent. Preparing for battle and intimacy requires our faithfulness and loyalty in the ordinary situations our lives find us in. Temptations come, frustrations are great and our stamina gets tested to the breaking point to fulfill our calling.

          Our Blessed Bridegroom has shown us how to refine some of the qualities necessary for our becoming the Warrior Bride. Our cry must be to become the reflection of our Lover. His Spirit and Life must be evident in each stride we take to becoming that intimate partner we so desire to be. His intimacy is gentle, whispered in our hearts. His war cry is great, resounding in our hearts.

          How then can we better hear and know His gentle and urgent whispers? A great gift from the One who loves us is such a record of those who have gone before. By no means are these examples perfect people, neither is the following an exhaustive study. It is for our benefit that we can see the reflection of the Warrior Bride in preparation through the eyes of these valuable souls gone before. Being a Watchman through the eyes of Nehemiah, … An Intercessor seen in Abraham, … Prophetic eyes such as those found in Hosea, … Intimacy as taught us by Ruth, … and Worship as understood through the experience of David. All of these teachers reflect the heart of the Warrior Bride as we let the Commander/Bridegroom illuminate their example to our hearts.

          As our eyes of understanding become more enlightened, we are quick to humbly submit ourselves to our Bridegroom’s revelation. We quiet our tongues and await our orders. We stand at the door or the Bridal Chamber awaiting the explanations of mysteries held within its walls

          The call is one of intimacy and warfare. We must wear the veil and carry the sword as the Lover of our Soul leads us to do battle.

          Allow us Oh Beloved One to grasp what is the breadth, depth and height of Your Love.

Warrior Bride Continued - The Bride

BRIDE

          No matter which culture we study, there are some constants about civilization. The ritual and ceremony of mating seems to be present everywhere. Becoming a bride, however, seems to be a strictly female understanding. I would hesitate to generalize and say that no man has ever planned a wedding, just as I would not conclude that no woman understands being a warrior. However, as state earlier, these are male/female terms and must be understood to fully grasp the dichotomy of our calling to become the Warrior Bride.

          Today, in Western culture, weddings seem to focus on and around the lovely bride. It is the Bride’s day to shine. All of the preparations are made to this end. Color schemes, dress style, men’s tuxedos – everything revolves around the master plan set out by the Bride. Our Bridegroom, however, will not stand for anyone to shine but Him. We prepare, anticipate and wait on the Bridegroom to come, all according to His master plan.

          Preparing for the spiritual intimacy, which is likened to the bridal union, can be disturbing for most. For the most part, we are a people of masks and shadows. We let certain individuals get close to us, but by no means do they know the truly worst of us. That would demand risking that love on the altar of intimacy. The only true love that will stand the ‘altar’ test is the one who designed intimacy in the first place, and aches to share it with us again.

          Intimacy with our Commander/Bridegroom is acknowledged in the preparation of our lives as a fragrance to His nostrils. Our heart and soul and mind become our altar of intimacy. We place our happiness and hurt, our desires and despair on the altar and allow the Lover of our Soul to have His way. Clothing ourselves in humility, we are sometimes overcome with the anticipation of wearing the wedding garments of His choosing.

          One of the biggest responsibilities of the Bride in preparation for Her Bridegroom is to come to Him undefiled. Regardless of the trappings that would sway her from her focus, it is still her response to her Lover to remain pure in thought, word and deed. This would entail motives of our heart, lusts of the flesh, even insecurities that would weigh us down, causing us to settle for second best.

          Part of the ritual the Bride must face is leaving her House of Origin and become known as His. The anticipation of hearing Him whisper our name as He calls us to His chamber leads us on. Prior to the wedding, as the Bride, we must allow our walls and defenses to come down, so as to be able to hear the Bridegroom’s whisper of love. We must allow Him to know us at the deepest level, thus allowing us to know Him in return. In worship, sometimes it is difficult for us to sing about the ‘kisses of your mouth’ and the ‘embrace of true love’. Our Divine Beloved demands nothing less than our whole hearts in devotion.

          Part of the trouble with true intimacy is that it takes such a time commitment. We see this in our day to day relationships very clearly. A man can say that he is intimate with his wife, but has he let down the walls of his heart where true intimacy begins. And has his wife, in turn accepted this man with everything she may find lying beyond those walls. The truth of intimacy is unconditional love along with unwavering honesty.

          In our age of instant successes and instant gratification, even great spiritual truths and quickly replaced by faster, easier methods. Our lesson should be learned from the One who has waited for us. His patience as our Bridegroom should be the standard by which our work is undertaken.

          In actuality, patient persevering would be the common denominator between the two extremes of becoming the Warrior Bride. The patient endurance of training works alongside the patient preparations for the Marriage Supper.

          Dare we take our Glorious Warrior Bride in the Bridal Chamber? Grimy, dirty and sore, our natural instincts tell us that we must be cleaned up before we enter. What we also have missed in our earthly relationships is the process by which we come together. In our societies, we must be cleaned up and dressed up for our big day. We hide all the flaws with the beautiful wedding garments – silks and taffetas. We decorate with garlands of beautiful flowers, their scent following us as we go.

          Our Bridegroom, however, wants us without the polish and the fragrances. He wants to be the One who strips the muddy garments of war from us. He wants to be the One who prepares us Himself. Coming to Him as we are, allows our Beloved to rub salve into our wounds. It allows this patient Lover to fragrance us with His own passion. Not until we stand before Him stripped of all our essential accessories and beautiful trappings, will we know true intimacy.

          The battle weary Bride comes to her Beloved with scars and bruises all received on behalf of this one she adores. How can there be anything but the highest adoration as our Commander/Beloved escorts us with gentleness and whispers of devotion to where our true Bridal clothes lay. As He places His fragrant garland on our head we will truly know that intimacy every Bride longs for.

          It is the wellspring of our hearts from which our Beloved wants to drink. This is the reason we must guard our hearts above all else. Bitter water does nothing to quench His thirst for our affection, attention and love. It is our responsibility to take an active role in becoming pure, clean water – pure and undefiled, thus our Beloved may be satisfied from our own well.

          Let us parallel our responsibilities as preparing to be the Warrior Bride, to the wonderful and exquisite example of Queen Esther. She is a prime picture of our role, as the Bride in anticipation of coming to her Bridegroom. As a young woman, she answered a call to “come and prepare herself’ for the King, her potential bridegroom. As was the custom of her day, this preparation time took one year, the first six months devoted to oil of myrrh, and six months to sweet odors. Many parallels can be drawn from her dedication to becoming the queen.

          First let us consider even the possibility of accepting the call of the Bridegroom to “Come and prepare thyself”. Down through the centuries the cry has been echoed through the chambers of Christendom. Men and women have fallen to their knees in humility and shame in the knowledge that without the grace and mercy of our Bridegroom, there is only certain death.

          It is our choice whether to enter this quest for ultimate intimacy or not. No one – not even our Beloved Commander – wants a reluctant Bride. It is our job to enter the race, to begin the preparations and to ensure that our heart is steady and beats with a single and sure passion.

          One of the goals and purposes of the Warrior Bride is to rule and judge and reign with our Commander Bridegroom. We may not, however, take part in those divine interactions until we have willingly and consciously entered the purification process. It is at this door most of us hesitate. This is the time when the most crucial of decisions will be made, and this is the time that we look back to during days of difficulty. Once through this door of deeper commitment there is no way to be back.

          It demands a choice. Surrendering and submitting to this cleansing period is to some the most awesome and most terrifying choice of their lives. It stirs up deeper commitment, deeper faith and deeper love. At the same time, purification also insists on letting go of the securities we have held on to so tightly in the past.

          The ‘oil of myrrh’ speaks of difficulties, of frustrations, and perhaps even of sadness. Myrrh is bitter. It is not the sweet smelling scent of joy and happiness associated with intimacy and love and betrothal. It is precisely the oil of myrrh that some of us need to rid us of our distraction in order to bring clarity and focus.

          Where will we allow these tests of our love and passions take us? As we stand at this door counting the cost of our purification, we decide then and there the road we will choose. At the first episode of difficulty, will we embrace the tests as part of the process, or will we shrug off this call as too heavy, too difficult, too much. It is vital to keep before us that our Commander/Bridegroom wants us to trust Him. Trust becomes a much clearer picture as we bathe and ready ourselves in the oil of myrrh. Submitting ourselves to the cleansing process, our Bridegroom knows that the stench of what we are in ourselves must be removed before the sweet odors of what we are in Him can be added.

          For some, the oil of myrrh will mean the deep valleys of pain, and the caverns of loneliness, but always the joy of the deeper intimacy each encounter brings is ever present. Again, we may not do the cleansing ourselves, for we cannot see ourselves in the honesty we need. Our job is to submit and surrender to our Bridegroom’s cleansing. It is His discretion, which decides where the cleansing ritual begins and ends. For some, it is over quickly and submission is a total gift to our Bride3groom. For most of us however, there are day by day struggles that make the journey through the ‘oil of myrrh’ process difficult, long and painful.

          Our Bridegroom does not leave us without hope and joy and peace. No matter what the situation is, no matter how love and faith are being tested, our Bridegroom wraps Himself around our souls and walks us through each step we take to greater knowledge.

          He provides the peace necessary to wake up tomorrow morning and know that He is in control. It is this peace that allows the oil of myrrh to build the foundation of trust we so desperately need now and in the days to come. It is this foundation of peace that allows our Warrior Bride to go through battlegrounds and the Bridal Chamber and all the Kings’ Courts in between, walking tall in the knowledge that Her Beloved/Commander awaits Her as the focus of His love.

          Her confidence lies in the hope awaiting Her. After the Warrior Bride submits to the oil of myrrh, following our Queen Esther’s example, her next surrender is to the sweet odors. This period of time provides the definition of grace in our lives. Receiving grace, giving grace, living out the true grace that only our Beloved/Commander can bestow. Our sweet odor begins when we can place ourselves in our Beloved’s hands and He shows us who we are. Our understanding of the grace He bestows to us allows us to bestow even more upon others. The sweet odor comes, as we become the reflection of His glory. We start to change, to reflect our Bridegroom’s character and recall the mysteries that His grace alone can share.

          If our goal is to reign at His side and to have His favor, our murky thoughts and foggy vision cannot cloud our judgment. Our vision needs to be clear and our heart unfettered by the things of this world, so we may become an extension of His grace in our thoughts, words and deeds. As His Warrior Bride, His trust in us grows as we submit to allowing His grace to make our lives a sweet odor.

          All of this is preparation. All of this is part of accepting an answering the challenge of the purification process. It is through these times of preparation that our Warrior Bride becomes strong of heart, diligent in love, and faithful in service. All in the absolute trust that we have found favor with the one we have come to adore.

          In anticipation of our heart embracing the chance to soar with the eagle, our Bridegroom makes preparations for our royal apparel. Allowing Him to clothe us in dignity and favor, we allow ourselves to rise above the petty and childish issues that once turned our heads and captured our attention. Our devotion commands that we clothe ourselves with the garments of His choosing. At times these seem difficult and an extreme contradiction. His dignity, our humility, His strength, our weakness, His love, our never-ending hope.

Part 1 Continued - The Warrior

WARRIOR

          Many are the nations that have armies. Great are the pictures and definitions of what it means to be a warrior. Most of those pictures and images conjured up in our minds are of men. We think of great men of valor and stamina. Powerful men – some skilled not only physically, but mentally as well in the art of war and battle.

          Newscasts are filled with images of skirmishes where rifles are in the hands of many zealots who would be known as warriors in their countries’ battles. Prizes are award for those who have the stamina both physically and mentally to withstand much physical pummeling in “Ultimate Combats”. In the Martial Arts, belts are awards as graduated degrees of difficulty are added to the training of these valiant warriors.

          Allow me to recount one of the most incredible pictures I have seen of the training of men and women in the making of a Navy Seal. The first day is 36 hours long. Mud, rain, insults, injury and pain are all introduced within the first hour. Food and rest is not an option. It is the objective of the training officer to break someone’s will with that initial experience.

          Placed in the middle of the compound where the grueling training takes place is a bell that is to be rung when someone quits the training. The bell may be rung at any point of the training. Some make it two days out of the six-week ordeal. Some ring the bell half way through. That bell stands in front of all the recruits as a reminder that at any time they can stop the training. At any time they can stop the incredible pain that is being inflicted in the preparation of war.

          It is stated that there is a 60% dropout rate of new recruits for Navy Seals. Six out of ten men and women ring that bell, leave training  and go back to their regular lives. The level of shame in ringing the bell and calling it quits lies solely in how important it is to become ‘the best of the best’. To some, the training is just too tough and the end result is not worth the pain.

          I must submit that this is a valid response to the program of pain. Not many civilians would be able to stand for the first hour, much less six weeks of this constant training. There are those, however, to whom it is everything to be a part of the Navy Seals. It is the prestige of being a part of the principle unit called upon in the face of war that drives some to push for more. It is precisely that stamina and training which makes the nation count on their expertise in times of disaster.

          Let us for a moment place our Gracious Warrior Bride into this picture. The army she is called to be a part of, is to be one where only those willing to go through the rigors of Boot Camp will be a part. In preparation for the warfare to come, we stand shoulder to shoulder with those others who deem it life or death to be on the team. Slugging through the mud of these everyday lives, dodging bullets, sidestepping the landmines of our temporal existence, we trudge on.

          No matter how long we’ve been training, we call to a weaker sister “Don’t ring the bell – you can make it!” Sometimes there is a brother on the other side of us who is weakening, and through the pain of our own exhaustion, we try to help him along the way.

          Once again, it is the preparation through which we must filter our understanding. Training is the essential ingredient to make any man or woman a warrior. To strip them of any outside thought or feeling, all must be brought into the focus of the war. In most cases, any person who wants to be the best, especially in preparation for war, has orders from a commander.

          This is the purpose of Boot Camp – the absolute obedience and adherence to any and all commands given by a superior officer. Most likely recruits have the most difficulty with the realization they no longer have their own voice or opinion. Taming our own tongues and our will to be under the command of our Commander/Bridegroom may be our greatest difficulty as well. It is only those times when we hold our tongue and listen to what the Commander wants to teach us, will we start to become familiar with the voice that will lead us to Battle.

          It would stand to reason that if we do not have the stamina for Boot Camp, we could ring the bell. We do not need to get to that point, however. The most wonderful thing about our Commander Bridegroom is that His Boot Camp is not designed to break us. His training is designed specifically for us to shed all the extra weights that constantly keep us from making it. It is designed to bring us into a disciplined walk with Him, so that as He issues His orders He can count on our obedience. It is designed to give us the confidence that He has in us. As He tells us to go take the land, we recognize His voice and can do His bidding.

          Make no mistake, Boot Camp is rigorous. It is dirty and gritty and it offends our sensibilities to place a pure, spotless bride in the middle of such sweat. That is exactly where she is however. She is doing maneuvers, holding her tongue, trudging through the mud, every muscle and joint aching. She is right there getting prepared for the war and keeping her ear attuned to the slightest command of Her eternal Commander/Bridegroom.

          All of us are acquainted with those who have a warfare mentality. There is no guesswork involved – warfare is what they do, who they are, and warfare is why they were saved. If there is a spiritual battle raging, it is these folk who run in guns blazing ready to tear down any and all strongholds in their way. This is not a bad trait, but perhaps one that is sloppy or immature.

          The true nature of a warrior is not the image of a bull in a china shop, but rather that of a wise, disciplined soldier. It is one who shows restraint and only enters battle following the Commanders orders. He awaits instruction. He defers the decision to move in battle over to the one for whom he is fighting.

          A wise warrior is constantly aware that he does not know the bigger picture. He does not always have the map with the layout of the enemy camp. The wise warrior is disciplined enough not to respond to the enemies’ teasing or taunting. Rather, he responds to the battle cry of his Commander. He has an ear always listening for the whispered command. There is no need for this Warrior Bride to draw attention to himself and away from the Commander. It is enough for him to follow. It is enough to fight his fight with wisdom, strength and dignity, always with reverence and respect towards his Commander.

          In the story of Gideon, our Commander/Bridegroom is shown exposing two extreme truths about Himself and our responses. The first truth encompasses He patience regarding our humanity. The second truth is revealed in the clear directives, which Gideon was to carry out. Absolute obedience to the Commanders orders was essential to the victory. As our journey to understand the Warrior Bride to her fullest begins, we find that our Commander regularly displays this dichotomy with us.

          Open communication with our Commander is a privilege we must not take for granted. He allows us, even in the trenches of war to express our emotions and our fears. It is in our nature as humans to second-guess ourselves and the voice that we hear is actually our Commander. This is part of His understanding however, and He fully allows and welcomes us just as we are.

          Gideon was addressed as a mighty man of valor and yet expressed his uncertainty at actually hearing the commander’s voice. Gideon found it necessary to request signs from God. Our Commander was allowing Gideon to enter the school of honest communication with Him. It became essential later on that Gideon knew that voice down to the tiniest detail and the faintest whisper. The Commander met Gideon where he was. He was a great man who needed to learn how to listen.

          The battle was won because Gideon followed the directives from the Commander to the letter. Not because he ran in kicking and screaming tearing down everything in sight. The Warrior Bride must be a warrior of strength, of might, and of valor. More importantly, he must possess the wisdom and humility to follow every command of the Commander.

          That discipline process touches every part of life. The essential area that discipline means to conform is the area of control in our private lives. They are the moments that no one sees, which determine how close we are to becoming the Warrior Bride. It is the moment we receive the check in our spirit as a small, quiet voice. The voice that prods us on to excellence, who knows what we can become, and who won’t send us into a battle we are not ready for.

          Our Commander takes us through the discipline of preparation so to wean us off our dependencies for direction, on looking to those things around us. He means for us to solely rely on Him for direction, for rest, for nourishment and for shelter. These are essential in battle. We need to know where to go, when to stop and when to move ahead. We need to find our rest and our shelter in our Commander. He waits to provide the nourishment we need to endure the battles ahead.

          Trust is forged in times of battle. Submitting to the Commander finds the willing participants met by Him at every valley, every crossroads, meeting every enemy and every scuffle faced with Him. There is never a time we find ourselves facing a battle alone. Our Commander is right alongside prompting every move, if we can only hear His voice.

          Once we have heard and understood the command, our Commander demands total obedience. He sees the bigger picture; He has the layout of the enemy’s camp.

          As our Commander/Bridegroom it is His desire to mend the hurts and wounds His Warrior Bride receives. In desiring the fullness of the calling, there will be pain. There will be moments of loneliness, heartache and weakness. Take heart that our Commander allows this, not to make us weaken and give up. It is to strengthen and find the resolve buried deep within us. His desire is to rub healing balm into your wounds and hold you – His valiant Warrior Bride – until the pain subsides and the victories are won.