May 18, 2009
Have you ever watched a movie that includes a siege? It was a common tactic during the days of fortified cities and castles. History is filled with some pretty nasty sieges. Braveheart, Return of the King, The Kingdom of Heaven – all have examples of sieges. A siege could take any amount of time depending on how strong the fortifications of the city or castle were, and how significant the stores of food and water were within the besieged fortification.
Now, I am no military historian, but it seems to me that the goals of a siege are fairly simple. 1. Cut off all the sources of supply for the besieged people. Cut off their water. Cut off their food. Cut off their supply lines totally. Cut off everything they need for life. Starve them out if need be. 2. Break down the fortifications and the walls of resistance. Break down the walls that have been built to protect and defend.
Scripture has many examples of sieges. There are examples of the enemies of Israel besieging them, but that’s not all. Isaiah 29:3 indicates that God actually lays siege to us, “I will encamp against you all around; I will encircle you with towers and set up my siege works against you.”
What? Why on earth would God do that? Because He loves us. He wants our wholehearted devotion. He wants to be our only source of life.
I have personal experience with this. You see, God laid siege to my life. He started to cut off things I would go to for life apart from Him. Self sufficiency, approbation, success, accomplishment, leisure distractions, self confidence, gifting, skills, strengths – these were the fortress in which I hid. The Lord loved me enough to lay siege to those things and cut off the life I was getting from them, so that I might turn to Him and find my true source of life.
God wants our whole heart. He wants us to discover true life in Him and He loves us enough to lay siege to us and cut off sources of life that are not true life from Him. You may be in the midst of the siege of God. Surrender to Him. Pull down your defenses that you hide behind. Drink from His waters of life – not ones that you have created. He wants you to find true life in Him.
The siege of God leads to life. Surrender to God. Find your life in Him.
Jeremiah 2:13
“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Strength and courage,
David