By: General James Green
“THE LORD GOD IS MY STRENGTH, my personal bravery, and my INVINCIBLE ARMY; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!” (Hab. 3:19, AMP). It has been said that “A greater number of virtuous acts is requisite to form the habit of virtue than of evil ones to form the habit of vice because the former are not like the latter-assisted by our corrupt nature.”
The prophet Habakkuk recognized that it was the Lord God who was his strength, his courage or bravery, his INVINCIBLE ARMY! Not only this, but Habakkuk saw he was able to walk upon the high places of God like a deer or mountain goat (cf. Deut. 33:29; 32:13; Mic. 1:3; Amos 4:13; 2 Sam. 1:19, 25). 90s
When one depends upon the Holy Spirit, one is able to walk upon those high and lofty places in the Spirit-something we can’t do by ourselves.
Verses 17-19 are an idyl of hope and confidence. And being part of God’s INVINCIBLE ARMY is a privilege indeed, not as a mere “churchgoer” but as a SOLDIER under COMMAND.
The testimony of the Spirit of God in men and women is the final testimony, the ultimate truth by which their steps must be guided-the Holy Spirit IS our Guide: “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth… (Jn. 16:13).
You see, the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) is, or should be, operative in all believers, guiding, teaching, correcting, blessing (see Matt. 18:15; 1 Tim. 5:20 and Rev. 3:19).
Without the Holy Spirit there is NO WAY!! any believer can reproduce Christ’s Holy Life in their lives. Sadly, too many churches today deny this vital truth. Instead, they have their own carnal ways of doing things WITHOUT Christ!! This, my dear friends, is mere “religion,” and “religion” is the enemy of Christ.
It is the Holy Spirit that reproves or approves all our works and righteous standards-do we, “through the Spirit,” mortify “the deeds of the body”? (Rom 8:13).
By and through the Holy Spirit of God, we, as His SOLDIERS, must stand…always 1st we prepared and ever on guard to resist the assaults of every passion/lust/temptation, for by bad habits of vice we can be overtaken. If this is not true, then why has today’s Church fallen so far from the high places in Christ?
Chicken or Eagle?
CHICKENS ARE ALWAYS about lower earthly things-scratching in the earth. The eagle, like the hind/deer, lives in a higher dimension. “Carnal Christians” are like barnyard chickens-clucking, scratching, picking at things in the earth, satisfying their sensual appetites…giving in to their lower natures, knowing and caring nothing about the HIGH LIFE in Christ.
If we do nothing but what barnyard chickens do, how can we expect to attain heights in perfection?
Even our external “works” fail to bring us internal fruitfulness if they are done merely in the spirit of “religiosity.” Many have fallen into eternal/fatal ruin because one they failed to allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. Many fancy themselves as “cutting edge” Christians but in reality have been borne aloft by their own “religious” Co works-without the Holy Spirit. This leads to the depth of self-delusion in which they are held blind to their own self-righteousness. To make matters worse, these “religious” folks are ever busy and very diligent observers and critics of the deeds and sacrifices of those who try to walk in the Spirit!
Let us contemplate all this: OUR STRENGTH COMES FROM GOD, OUR COURAGE COMES FROM HIM; WE CAN WALK UPON THE HIGH PLACES BY HIS SPIRIT; IT IS BY AND THROUGH GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT THAT WE CAN SOAR ABOVE THE EARTHLY, CONQUER OUR UNRULY APPETITES, AND RENDER GOD ACCEPTABLE SERVICE.